- Gauselmann

Transcription

- Gauselmann

®
The 2014 business year for the Gauselmann Group
www.gauselmann.com
Games makers worldwide
2014
The business year for the Gauselmann Group
Gauselmann Group –
Key Figures
€ million
2014
2013
Volume of business
1,942
1,847
Sales (fully consolidated)
1,286
1,191
– of which in Germany
725
706
– of which international
561
485
Economic equity
611
567
– of which shareholders’ equity
559
517
– of which silent partnership contributions
19
25
– of which Gauselmann family loan
33
25
187
208
Work places at year’s end
8,458
8,161
(full-time equivalents)
6,848
6,706
5,789
5,645
2,669
2,516
– of which temporary employment
358
271
– of which apprentices and trainees
218
192
Investments
Philosophy
We are an internationally active family-owned company, committed to providing
leisure-time entertainment and gaming fun with small stakes and prizes, true to our
motto “More than a game”.
Our core competences – content, technology and operating – enable us to offer
top-quality games anywhere and at any time based on the respective legislative
framework.
We stand for responsible gaming – the latest insights into prevention and consumer
protection continually flow into our product range.
Alongside our products, our employees play a major role in ensuring that our entire
offering sets high benchmarks.
We are
®
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Contents
Philosophy
01
To our business partners
04
08
MERKUR DIVISION
12
Development, production and sales of amusement and
gaming machines and money management systems in Germany
Games makers in Germany (Lübbecke)
20
Development and sales of amusement and gaming machines and
money management systems internationally
24
Cash and ticketing activities
30
Research and development
36
Games makers in the UK
40
SPIELOTHEK DIVISION
44
Operation of entertainment centres in Germany
44
Operation of entertainment centres internationally
52
Games makers in Germany (Limburg an der Lahn)
Operation of casinos
02
12
56
60
Games makers in India
64
NEW MEDIA
68
Online gaming
68
Financial services
71
Sports betting
72
Games makers in Spain
74
Prevention
78
Employees and training
82
Corporate commitment to the region
86
Outlook on the business development
90
Paul Gauselmann’s birthday
92
Gauselmann Family Council
96
Management Board
97
Supervision and advice
98
Supervisory Board
99
Publishing details
100
03
UMWELTSCHUTZ
To our business partners
The Gauselmann Group’s greatest asset is our games and the fun factor that accompanies them. They
are why millions of players every day visit our arcades and casinos, play on our coin-op gaming machines
or take advantage of our online gaming offerings. Our product portfolio in the meantime includes several
hundred games.
But, of course, people have different tastes. Men or women, young or old, in Germany, Spain or South
America: players’ interests differ, sometimes quite significantly. To take just one example: in Germany, 7 is a
lucky number, while in Asia it’s unlucky. Another factor when developing games is the sometimes very divergent legal stipulations that have to be adhered to.
It may sound paradoxical at first, but the foundation for all the creative, colourful and entertaining games
is mathematics. Maths provides a framework and acts as a driver at the same time. Building on this are the
graphics and sound, which in today’s world of full HD and Dolby Digital are expected to meet the most
exacting quality standards.
The games are then packaged in a technical solution. In the past, this would generally have been a classic
coin-op gaming machine, but nowadays the trend is towards online gaming. In many regions of the world
today it has become perfectly normal to enjoy gaming on your laptop, tablet or smartphone. You don’t need
to be a prophet to figure out that games with small stakes and prizes are also increasingly being enjoyed
online.
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Umweltschutz
Paul Gauselmann
05
TO OUR BUSINESS PARTNERS
We invest millions of euros every year in the development of our games and technical solutions. We
currently employ a staff of over 450 developers, who are the guarantors for the high quality of our games.
The majority of them work at our development and production site in Lübbecke, but some also belong to one
of the 16 game design teams worldwide. This is because to be in with a chance of creating successful games,
it’s essential to be familiar with the respective markets and the mentality of the players.
We would like to use this Business Report as an opportunity to give you a brief insight into the world of
the “Game Makers”. In six special chapters spread throughout the Report we therefore introduce you to our
development units in Germany, the UK, Spain and India.
The games themselves are, of course, also one of the key factors behind our company’s continued commercial success, enabling us to close the 2014 financial year on a positive note – despite severe legal
restrictions on “small-scale” commercial gaming in the German core market. These in some cases had a
significantly negative impact on business development, but were more than compensated for by prospering
international business in nearly all segments.
The total business volume – taking all Group entities into account – with our internationally well-known
“laughing Merkur sun” trademark grew by more than 5 percent to over 1.94 billion euros. This goes hand in
hand with the positive development of fully consolidated sales, which increased to 1.29 billion euros – over
90 million euros higher than in the previous year.
Despite all the restrictions, earnings remain satisfactory. Although the prevailing conditions make it
impossible for us to reach our target of a 10 percent return on sales, we can at least record a sustained rate
in excess of 5 percent.
I am, however, less than happy about the current legislative parameters in Germany, which are threatening to drive leisure-time gamers into illegality. Absurdly exaggerated restrictions such as extended barred
periods, entrance control systems or non-smoking laws are spoiling the gaming experience at our arcades
for many of our playing guests, who are turning in their droves to unregulated – and therefore illegal in
Germany – foreign gaming products that are available on the Internet, from the comfort of their sofas.
Consequently, we are intensifying our activities on international markets, for example in the UK or Spain,
where reliable legal parameters create a secure environment for providers and clients. We have already
become successfully established in these markets.
The successful development of international business in 2014 was made possible thanks to investments
to the tune of 187 million euros, as well as the creation of numerous new jobs, increasing the total number
of employees by around 300 to a good 8,500. In Germany, the legal situation provides no scope for the
creation of jobs or for larger investments. From an entrepreneurial point of view, this would be irresponsible.
Our shift towards markets outside Germany is, as it were, literally being imposed on us by law.
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Nevertheless, with completion of the new “Hall 8” at the Lübbecke development and production site in
mid-2014, the largest construction project in the history of the Gauselmann Group was successfully concluded. The expansion of the facility will greatly help to optimise processes and cut costs in the area of
logistics, so that the new building will amortise within a foreseeable period.
One ray of light in Germany is our first state-licensed casino, which we opened in Saxony-Anhalt at
the end of 2014 after a successful tendering procedure. On the other hand, the granting of sports betting
licences for the German market is still pending. Despite winning the tendering procedure with the highest
number of points, we have been waiting for nearly three years now to get started under German law, with
costs already running into the double-digit millions. This is a totally unsatisfactory and intolerable situation.
For the first time ever, the equity of the Gauselmann Group surpassed the 600-million-euro mark in 2014,
equivalent to an equity ratio of over 50 percent. Our credo has always been to reinvest profits, a policy
that given the difficult German market is now paying off. As a company, we are in excellent shape, with
outstanding employees and over 200 trainees who make sure day in, day out that our products and services
set the highest possible standards. This is something we are very proud of. Only recently, our CASINO
MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK subsidiary received “Focus” magazine’s Top Employer of the Year Award. Alongside
numerous TÜV certifications in the areas of gaming machine manufacture and arcades, such an award is
further testimony to our high quality standards.
As a family of entrepreneurs, we will continue to do everything in our power to defend ourselves against
the injustice in Germany caused by the competitive stance of individual federal states. This is a great incentive
to continue to forge ahead with political negotiations, litigations and entrepreneurial activities and ensure the
company’s success moving forward.
Yours sincerely,
Paul Gauselmann
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Germany
UK
Research and development play a particularly
important role within the Gauselmann Group.
From hardware development and game design
with the core elements mathematics, graphics
and sound, via software development, through to
quality management – with its innovative products
the Group consistently sets new industry standards.
With 450 staff members working in this field
worldwide, approximately 60 percent of whom
are employed in Germany, the Group underscores
its professional competence in the modern gaming
products segment.
In total, 16 game design teams around the world
are involved in creating new games content for
the Gauselmann Group. The centrepiece and link
between the international development locations
is adp Gauselmann GmbH in Lübbecke, where
nearly all of the basic technology for the Group is
developed. This is where everything comes together.
And this is where, every Thursday, Management
Board Chairman Paul Gauselmann is to be found,
when the entire product development and the permanent evaluation of the performance data of the
machines are analysed and assessed and targets for
the future set.
Germany
India
Spain
Interview with Dr Werner Schroer, Board of Management member
for Technoloy
“The most important thing is always the game.
Our games database provides access to
several hundred games.”
Dr Werner Schroer
As Board of Management member for Technology,
Dr Werner Schroer is responsible for Research
and Development within the Gauselmann Group.
The engineering and e conomics graduate joined
adp Gauselmann GmbH on 1 December 2000
as Head of Development and was appointed
to the Management Board in 2010. During this
time, he has supervised, among other things, the
ground-breaking introduction of LED and full-HD
technology on gaming machines, as well as the
replacement of classic reel-based machines by
modern multigamers.
Dr Schroer, what, from the development
perspective, makes a good product?
The most important thing is always the game.
Everything else serves to present the games to
players as optimally as possible. Of course, an
ergonomic cabinet, functioning and appealing
haptics, technical stability and protection against
tampering are all important factors, but it’s always
the games that are decisive. Generally, you can
imagine the whole thing rather like a theatre stage.
In order to put on a play in the best possible way,
you need a stage with all the corresponding
lighting and sound technology. But it’s the actual
production and not the stage that will enthral the
audience.
Ultimately, the stage merely supports the contents
that the director, or scriptwriter, has dreamt up.
Even the best technical effects can’t turn a bad
theatre play into a good one.
What are the decisive factors when
developing games?
The primary task is to create a harmonious whole
from the various components of a game, such as
video graphics, sound, usability and the game
system itself. Another important factor in game
development is giving consideration to cultural
differences. For example in Asia – unlike in Europe –
the colour white is the colour of mourning and the
number seven is considered unlucky. The challenge
for development is to identify and address these
local specificities. By the same token, in Europe
games with less frequent, but higher prizes are
very popular, whereas in South America and the
US, by contrast, so-called time-on-device games
with a high entertainment value and lots of small
prizes have the greatest chances of success.
To what extent does legislation influence the
development process?
What technical innovations will shape the
gaming markets in the future?
A big challenge is especially the many different
locally applicable laws. The task for the Gauselmann Group is to create the best game systems
we can within the limits of the laws. Above all on
the German market the amendment of the Gaming
Ordinance presents us with new challenges, both
from a technical point of view and with regard to
the game systems. But we are already excellently
positioned to comply with the legislative framework that will apply in the future.
In the long term, man and machine will move
even more closely together. The interaction
between player and machine will experience
decisive changes. Be it eye-tracking or purely
touch devices – there are still strides to be made
in the fields of monitor technology and design.
What role does monitoring the market play
in games development?
Monitoring the market generally plays a very
important role in research and development. It
allows us to draw conclusions about future gaming
trends, as well as for our own game systems
development. As operators of our own gaming
arcades, both nationally and internationally, the
Gauselmann Group receives direct feedback from
the market with respect to the performance of our
own developments. This permanent, continuous
exchange flows into ongoing product development
and helps us to adapt the products to the needs of
our playing guests.
Development within the Gauselmann Group
adp Gauselmann GmbH (D)
MEGA Spielgeräte
Entwicklungs- und Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH und Co. KG (D)
Kaiser Spiele GmbH (D)
HESS Cash Systems GmbH & Co. KG (D)
GeWeTe Geldwechsel- und Sicherheitstechnik GmbH & Co. KG (D)
edict eGaming GmbH (D)
Merkur Win S.R.I. (D)
Blueprint Gaming Ltd. (GB)
Blueprint Gaming Inc. (RP)
Blueprint Gaming (USA)
Betcom Ltd. (GB)
Dosniha Gaming S.L. (E)
Merkur Gaming India Pvt Ltd. (IND)
Lucky Nugget Gaming Pvt Ltd. (IND)
Cashpoint Agentur & IT-Service GmbH (A)
Merkur Gaming GmbH (A)
Titan Gaming (A)
MERKUR DIVISION
“In order to reduce our dependency on our German home market,
we are systematically advancing the internationalisation of our
corporate group. Our aim in doing so is to make the Merkur sun just
as well known and successful internationally as it is in Germany!”
Jürgen Stühmeyer, Board of Management member
Development, production and sales of amusement
and gaming machines and money management
systems in Germany
adp Gauselmann GmbH
adp Gauselmann GmbH is the innovation and market leader in all aspects of gaming with small stakes
and prizes, innovative technology and first-class service. The company has been a pioneer in the areas of
development, production and sales of innovative machines, fascinating games, as well as complementary
cutting-edge technologies and services for over four decades.
In 2014, massive legal restrictions were imposed on commercial gaming in Germany. The ensuing limitations of the state arcade laws, such as longer barred periods, entrance control systems and non-smoking
laws, have adversely impacted the market situation. Nevertheless, adp Gauselmann managed to hold on to
its market share of a good 50 percent of the approximately 250,000 coin-op gaming machines installed in
Germany and thus continued to lead the industry.
Classic reel-based machines were almost completely replaced by state-of-the-art multigamers, both in
entertainment centres and in the bars and restaurants segment. In this segment, too, the triumph of video-based
multigamers is almost complete. Only 5 percent of the coin-op machines installed in the hospitality segment
are still classic reel-based machines.
adp Gauselmann’s high standards in the areas of quality management, environmental protection and
occupational health and safety are confirmed in regular audits carried out by TÜV Rheinland. From Gauselmann Großhandel, development, the service provider adp merkur service, through to production – adp
Gauselmann GmbH complies with internationally recognised quality standards endorsed by TÜV certification in accordance with DIN EN ISO 9001:2008. Within the scope of its environmental management,
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the company was also certified in accordance with the DIN EN ISO 14001:2004 standard in 2013 and
with the BS OHSAS 18001 standard in 2014, which attest to optimum occupational health and safety
management.
Another milestone for adp Gauselmann in the past financial year was the completion of the new logistics
centre at the Lübbecke production site. With more than 21,000 square metres of useable space, this represents
the largest construction project in the Gauselmann Group’s history. With its warehousing technology and
processes, the new building is one of the most modern warehouses in Germany and significantly helps
optimise logistics processes and reduces costs for managing external warehouses. In addition to logistics,
the location expansion provides additional space for research and development, production and service.
Right at the beginning of the 2014 financial year, adp Gauselmann impressively demonstrated its
innovative strength at the IMA, the industry’s leading trade fair, with its highlight, the “Merkur Ideal Vision
Slant Top SL”. Thanks to the new “Merkur Profitech HD” technology, brilliant 2.1 stereo sound and a series
of new ergonomic developments, the “Merkur SL” guarantees the ultimate in entertainment. Together with
the integrated proprietary elevator technology for money payouts, adp Gauselmann is also setting new
standards in efficient cash management.
As an exclusive premium product, adp Gauselmann successfully established the “Merkur Ideal Space”
gaming orb in 2014. With its futuristic design, swivel-mounted full-HD monitor and crystal clear sound, the
striking cabinet has proved popular especially where individual machines are installed.
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MERKUR DIVISION
The “Merkur Ideal Space”
gaming orb sets new trends
in arcades
The company’s innovative strength was also demonstrated by the “Merkur Bet Book” sports betting
terminal. On two 27-inch monitors designed to look like an open book, all sports betting content is displayed
in an easy-to-read format. What’s more, the terminal is extremely user-friendly and well-designed. The
“Merkur Bet Book” is also available in a solo version, with just one monitor.
adp Gauselmann’s product portfolio is characterised by the quality and variety of the games on offer.
A global network of 16 development teams is continuously working on creating new content. In 2014, the
company launched a total of 14 new Merkur-Magie games packages with up to 70 games onto the market.
The further development of the “My Top Game” feature, which as of last year is included as standard in
the 60-games packages, has proved highly popular. The gaming library – unique in the world – enables
direct access to over 200 games. The longer life cycle of the gaming packages is a reflection of their outstanding quality and the positive market acceptance. In December 2014, adp Gauselmann GmbH reached
another new milestone in its corporate history when the 2 millionth gaming machine rolled off the assembly
line at its Lübbecke adp production site.
Long-standing customer retention is a key success factor for adp Gauselmann GmbH. This loyalty is
honoured with the Merkur sun bonus system. This exclusive premium system regularly gives customers of the
Gauselmann Group access to attractive offers and promotions, making it unique in the industry and consequently of high value. Operating companies can check their current sun account balance at any time on the
adp Internet portal.
Behind the popularity of the products from adp Gauselmann is a strong brand – Merkur-Magie. Over
85,000 Merkur-Magie Facebook fans and the popular Merkur-Magie app substantiate this recipe for
success.
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Development, production and sales of amusement and gaming machines and money management systems in Germany
Paul Gauselmann (right) and Wilfried Berkenbrink proudly present the two millionth gaming machine
to leave the assembly line at the Lübbecke production site
The penetration and expansion of the Merkur-Magie Event portfolio also contributed to the successful
brand management of adp Gauselmann GmbH in 2014.
An outlook on the future was provided in the second half of the 2014 financial year at the annual adp
industry summit. Under the motto “Status quo – tradition and passion”, the Gauselmann Group presented
an impressive combination of product novelties, interesting specialist presentations by high-profile speakers
and an exclusive entertainment programme at the Frankfurt Congress Center. As well as the products, the
focus of the two-day in-house industry event was on specialist presentations on topics such as marketing, TÜV
certification, sports betting and research into luck.
In 2015, adp Gauselmann intends to launch “Merkur Roulette” and thus become the first company to
introduce real-bowl roulette with a licence from the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) for entertainment centres in Germany, providing a genuine roulette experience with small stakes. The novel slot
machine roulette with its mechanical bowl and roll of the ball will bring a new dimension in entertainment to
arcades. Again in 2015, adp Gauselmann GmbH will live up to its reputation as an innovation leader with
ground-breaking products and a service-oriented services portfolio.
adp merkur service
adp merkur service is the service provider within the Gauselmann Group. Alongside maintenance and
service of coin-operated gaming machines, adp merkur service also offers its customers a comprehensive
range of accessory products, an extensive seminar programme, as well as a nationwide network of service
technicians within the “free&easy” system.
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MERKUR DIVISION
Direct dialogue with the client is an integral part of the corporate policy. Since 2011, the Technical Merkur
Advisory Board has been an important instrument for promoting the exchange of thoughts and ideas and
at the same time a valuable advisory body for adp Gauselmann and adp merkur service. The technical
managers from the companies represented on the Board meet around three times a year to discuss special
topics.
adp merkur service is a sought-after service provider in the area of modern money processing technology.
Since its market introduction in 2008, the “Merkur Dispenser 100”, a modular, intelligent banknote recycler,
has been part of the gaming machine specialist’s portfolio. The success of this piece of technical wizardry was
once again demonstrated at the IMA in 2014 with the auctioning off of the 100,000th “Merkur Dispenser
100” for charity. To mark this anniversary occasion, the successful product received a new addition to the
family: the latest development is the “Merkur Dispenser 100 Gold”. As well as a new, more powerful CPU,
optimised product features include additional light barriers for improved security.
adp merkur service also faced new, far-reaching challenges in the past business year as a result of the
state arcade laws. New in the product portfolio, for example, was the “Merkur Check-In” entrance control
system, a practical and ideal solution for ensuring compliance with the statutory requirements where these
are now prescribed by law. In addition to direct OASIS blacklist synchronisation, the system also offers the
possibility to maintain local blacklists, as well as easy blacklisted document management. From the complete
set-up to activating all entrance control components, as well as the certification activation for the state of
Hesse, adp merkur service proved to be a competent partner in 2014.
In 2014, adp merkur service also broke new ground with “MerkurNet”. Networking structures have seen
enormous growth in recent years. This has prompted adp merkur service to introduce the new “MerkurNet”
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Hall 8
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Logistics
Development
Merkur Service
Production
Warehouse
Dispenser production
National Sales
International Sales
The “Hall 8” expansion at the Lübbecke production site (see circle) was completed in 2014
onto the market. The server-based system features a dynamic menu that can be customised to meet the
requirements of the respective amusement arcade or catering establishment, providing the operator with all
relevant data at a glance.
With the “Little Helper” service app introduced in 2011, adp merkur service has offered its clients the
possibility to retrieve all important machine data anytime, anywhere, directly on their smartphone. In August 2014, the company relaunched the app in a new design and with numerous new features. In addition to current information, technical notices and the programme status of their own machine pool, clients
can now also use the “Little Helper” to conveniently retrieve validation codes. For either Apple or Android
devices many features have been redesigned, taking into account customer feedback and the latest trends in
IT development.
2014 also brought a change of location as well as organisational changes for adp merkur service. The
company’s relocation to the office facilities at the new logistics centre in Lübbecke and the opening of a
new customer centre at the headquarters will in future bring enormous benefits in the value chain and for
operational workflows.
Gauselmann Großhandel
Gauselmann Großhandel is the sales organisation within adp Gauselmann GmbH. With a network of
currently 11 branch offices and the complementary adp Internet portal, customers of Gauselmann Großhandel can take advantage of the product and services offerings of the entire Gauselmann Group. Nationwide presence and local customer proximity are the cornerstones for competent and qualified advice. Sales
staff are offered regular training courses, thus guaranteeing the high level of advice and service.
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MERKUR DIVISION
Already a tradition: the industry summit in Frankfurt “made by Merkur”
Apart from the industry summit and IMA key events, another important instrument for customer retention
in the past financial year was the in-house fairs held in winter, spring and autumn at the Gauselmann Großhandel branch offices and other venues.
Schneider wholesale company
For decades, Schneider Automaten has been the largest full-range supplier in the realm of gaming and
amusement machines and constitutes another important sales partner for adp Gauselmann GmbH. The
company primarily sells adp products, but also offers all other well-known brands of amusement and gaming
machines in its product range. The wholesaler operates nine branch offices across Germany. In 2014, the
Cologne-based wholesaler celebrated its 30th anniversary with a festive boat cruise on the Rhine.
MEGA Spielgeräte and Kaiser Spiele
MEGA Spielgeräte Entwicklungs- und Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG is a recognised specialist for
the development of jackpot systems and games centres. Based in Limburg, Hesse, the company has made a
name for itself both nationally and internationally with its innovative games systems. The devices and systems
are produced at adp Gauselmann GmbH’s Lübbecke production site.
MEGA is most well-known for its popular Jackpot Centres, such as “Monopoly”, “Golden Nugget” and
“Who wants to be a millionaire”. In 2014, the Limburg-based company captured the German market with
the two new games centres “El Dorado” and “Seven”. The enormous potential offered in particular by
“Seven” already became clear at the IMA. The introduction of the four-machine unit at the beginning of the
year was followed in autumn 2014 by the market launch of the “Seven” two-machine unit. In less than a
year, the “Seven” system was able to secure significant market shares among the German games centres.
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MEGA achieved similar successes on the Dutch market in 2014 with its “Games Unlimited” multigame line.
In the Netherlands, products from MEGA are among some of the most popular multigamers. The company
is also striving to establish itself on the Czech market.
The MEGA Web GmbH subsidiary develops coin-operated Internet terminals. Both the software and the
hardware for the terminals proven in tens of thousands of applications are the product of the company’s own
think tank.
Merkur Freizeit Leasing (MFL)
For close on three decades, Merkur Freizeit Leasing GmbH has been known as the leading financial
services provider in the gaming machine industry with a clear emphasis on customer orientation. The rent,
leasing and licensing models in the portfolio of the Gauselmann Group’s manufacturer financing company
are geared without exception towards the needs of the market and are flexibly adapted accordingly. With
supplementary products such as machine insurance, MFL also provides additional value.
With the introduction of paperless contract and invoice processing, the financial services provider is
treading new ground. Between April 2013 and the end of 2014, as much as 75 percent of all rent, leasing
and licensing contracts had been converted to the new digital format. Since September 2014, MFL customers
have also been able to benefit from the advantages of sending invoices electronically.
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Games makers in Germany
adp Gauselmann GmbH
adp Gauselmann GmbH subsumes under one
roof research, development, production and sales
of games with small stakes and prizes, as well as
amusement machines with and without money
payouts. The central development and production
site in Lübbecke is also home to the adp games
design team and its Head of Mathematics Edgar
Rensinghoff.
With his team of ten, Edgar Rensinghoff focuses
primarily on the conceptual design of new games
systems for the international games library, which
currently includes well in excess of 200 titles. He
and his colleagues are also very much involved
in the licensing process of the games and games
packages with the Physikalisch-Technische Bundes
anstalt (PTB) in Berlin. Without such a licence,
for example, it is not permitted to install coin-op
gaming machines in arcades or bars and restaur
ants in Germany.
adp Gauselmann GmbH
“We write the scripts for the games.”
Edgar Rensinghoff
Graduate mathematician Edgar Rensinghoff has
been with the company for over 30 years and
was appointed personally by Paul Gauselmann
and his son Michael.
What role does legislation play in games
development?
“The laws and regulations provide the scope
within which we are able to move with our ideas.
In Germany, this scope is very narrow. Compared
to other countries like the UK or Spain, our legis
lation here is very restrictive. Stakes, duration
of play, maximum prizes and loss limits are all
precisely defined and controlled by the Physika
lisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) before the
games are launched onto the market.”
Since the end of 2014 a new Gaming
Ordinance has been in force. What does
this mean for you?
Quite simply that our entire games library of
over 200 games has to be brought into line with
the new, much more stringent regulations. Every
game has to be reprogrammed or adapted
accordingly and subsequently resubmitted to the
PTB for approval. However, we are confident that
we will be able to continue to offer our customers
attractive games in the future.
What role does mathematics play in the
development of the games?
It may sound like a contradiction, but as mathem
aticians we write the scripts for the games. It is
always fascinating for me to see how with the help
of mathematics you can bring a game, the figures
and the contents to life, so that it becomes and
remains as exciting as possible for the players.
MERKUR DIVISION
Development and sales of amusement and
gaming machines and money management
systems internationally
Merkur Gaming
For over 20 years, the Gauselmann Group has consistently and successfully promoted the company’s
internationalisation. This includes the development and sales of amusement machines and casino machines
with payouts, as well as video lottery terminals (VLTs), server-based gaming (SBG) systems and jackpot
solutions for the international gaming and prize games markets. The business activities of Merkur Gaming
GmbH formed the central pivot and focal point when it came to tapping into new European and global sales
markets, as well as developing growth in already established international markets in the 2014 business
year.
The products of the Gauselmann Group have always stood for reliability and quality. With this in mind,
we apply the same high standards for international target markets as we do for the German market. For the
national as well as the global markets, production is carried out by adp Gauselmann GmbH at the Lübbecke
location in accordance with the internationally applicable high quality standards for development, manufacture and sales as set out and defined by DIN EN ISO 9001.
In a highly competitive market environment, the Gauselmann Group custom develops innovations tailored
to each country’s specific needs. To this end, the company maintains a continuous dialogue with operating
companies, playing guests and developers. This invaluable feedback from the market flows directly into the
development processes and leads to ongoing product improvement and optimisation. In order to remain
internationally competitive and efficiently leverage opportunities for growth, it is essential to be able to adapt
to legal and social parameters, individual customer preferences, as well as local market characteristics and
gaming habits in the corresponding sales markets.
24
Development and sales of amusement and gaming machines and money management systems internationally
The Gauselmann Group shows international presence at trade fairs: London, Las Vegas, Madrid
In the 2014 financial year, the strategic goal was first and foremost to consolidate activities and concentrate
on defined core markets. Merkur Gaming consistently implemented this strategy, increased its international
market expertise and demonstrated a high level of innovative strength, thus providing valuable new impulses
for growth.
The core markets in the 2014 business year, apart from Europe, were mainly Central and South America,
as well as South Africa. Countries like Peru, Colombia and Mexico developed especially well and saw a
significant rise in sales activities. With its Merkur Gaming Peru subsidiary, the company is very well positioned
in terms of infrastructure and organisation. In Peru and Mexico, where the legal situation has in the meantime
stabilised again, Merkur machines achieved a stable, above-average performance. As a result of this, the
sales volume in these countries almost doubled.
Top products from Merkur Gaming in the 2014 business year included above all the “Evolution” and
“Highflyer” cabinets. The presentation of the new “Avantgarde SLT” cabinet featuring full-HD technology
also proved highly successful and promises to further strengthen the company’s market position internationally
in 2015.
The Gauselmann Group also recorded growth in the segments for VLT and SBG solutions in 2014.
Because they are permanently linked to a central server under the watchful eye of the respective authorities,
these networked gaming systems comply with the highest security requirements for the information flow.
25
MERKUR DIVISION
In the 2014 financial year, the Group also strengthened its presence in the international casino markets.
While the company was able to expand its market position in Romania and Serbia, there was also a sharp
increase in demand in Switzerland. The “Highflyer” cabinet is especially popular in the Alpine region. The
Group also stepped up its business activities on the German casino market, among other things at its own
Merkur Spielbank in Leuna-Günthersdorf, which is considered to be technically the most advanced casino
in Germany.
Following the first-time installation of Merkur Gaming products in two shipboard casinos on MSC cruise
ships in October 2013, business relations with the cruise line were intensified and expanded further in the
completed business year.
The goal for 2015 is to continue on this course of strategic expansion and to make investments in new
sales markets. Successful test installations were already made in 2014 in Panama, Russia and Hungary,
among other countries.
One important factor with a view to generating sales and enhancing relations with key accounts and
business partners, as well as generally monitoring the market, is the company’s presence at trade fairs. The
Gauselmann Group has been presenting its product portfolio at the leading international industry shows for
many years. Among the major shows to be held in 2014 were the ICE in London and the G2E in Las Vegas.
In order to meet the expectations of its customers, the company relies on a strong global team. In-house
training opportunities, regular product training and foreign language courses contribute significantly to
consolidating and strengthening the Group’s international positioning in the market.
26
Moving forward, the Gauselmann Group will establish itself even more strongly than before as a driver
of innovation. In the 2015 financial year, the focus will first and foremost be on consistently intensifying
and optimising market development in those international and regulated markets in which the Gauselmann
Group is already active. Core markets here include Europe, Central and South America, as well as Africa.
In the medium term, laying the groundwork for market entry into North America will significantly determine
business activities.
Successful in Europe
The Gauselmann Group successfully maintained its strong track record in 2014 especially in the UK, the
Netherlands and Spain, where it further enhanced its market penetration. These target markets are gaining
increasing importance for the Gauselmann Group.
In the Netherlands, the Group profited from its strong market position. Since entering the market in March
2012, it has seen continuous growth in sales of the “Games Unlimited” multigame line, giving it a leading
edge in terms of machine performance in the video-based multigamer segment. The same as in Germany,
gaming machines in the Netherlands are strictly regulated by law. The Dutch market has a comparatively
low number of entertainment centres and arcade operators, but at the same time permits a high density of
gaming machines at the operating sites.
In 2014, the Gauselmann Group gained additional market shares above all with the “Games Unlimited 1”
and “Games Unlimited 2” products in the vision slant-top cabinet. The “Casino WB5” and “Highflyer”
cabinets also further established themselves. Under the “Games Unlimited“ multigame line four different
games packages are offered, one of which has been especially developed for a multiplayer multigamer
machine – a gaming machine for several players.
27
MERKUR DIVISION
The Gauselmann Group also further enhanced its presence in the UK during the past business year.
With its Blueprint Gaming subsidiary, the company has continued to promote the switchover from classic
reel-based machines to video-based multigamers in the pub and arcade market. Blueprint Gaming is one
of the leading multi-platform developers for digital games. True to the company’s philosophy “It’s all about
the games”, Blueprint Gaming develops games for stationary and server-based markets, as well as for the
online and mobile segments. The machine cabinets are manufactured at the Gauselmann Group production
site in Lübbecke. In 2014, Blueprint Gaming was able to exploit the digital switchover with the innovative
“Genie” cabinet and successfully position the video-based multigamer in the British category C market. Here,
Blueprint Gaming can draw on the experience gained by the Gauselmann Group on the German market
as a manufacturer and operator of multigamers. The Group already holds pole position in the British market
for video-based multigamers.
In the British arcade market, the Gauselmann Group has been represented through its Praesepe subsidiary
since 2012. The well-known arcade chain owns over 170 entertainment centres and bingo clubs, including
Europe’s largest bingo club – Beacon Bingo in Cricklewood.
In the 2014 financial year, the Gauselmann Group further strengthened its presence in the UK market through targeted acquisitions. The purchase of gaming software developer Betcom Ltd. reinforces the
company’s position in the UK development segment. The takeover opens up new prospects for the Group
for tapping this market. Betcom Ltd. has specialist development expertise in the analogue segment, creating
a link between classical gaming and the digital world.
28
The Group will continue to pursue its strategy of meaningful growth among other things with the acquisition
of the business operations of the British company Sceptre Leisure. Sceptre Leisure is one of the two big
amusement machine operators in the UK and specialises in supplying equipment to the highly competitive
pub segment. Sceptre Leisure operates approximately 22,000 machines in the UK pub market, around
11,500 of which are AWPs. In future, it is planned to further accelerate the market penetration in the British
pub segment with machines from the Gauselmann think tank.
In the Spanish gaming market, the Gauselmann Group has in the meantime successfully established
itself with its Dosniha subsidiary. Dosniha is responsible within the Group for the development and sales of
multigamers in Spain. In 2014, Dosniha set up a branch office in Madrid.
With its feel for the Spanish entertainment market, Dosniha Gaming has quickly become the industry
leader in the Spanish arcade sector. The extensive product portfolio comprising “Monopoly Jackpot”,
successful multigamer packages such as “Merkur Magic” and “Merkur Magic 2” and VLT/SBG solutions
with the “Merkur Magic Exclusiva”, is now to be complemented by a product designed especially for the
hospitality sector. At the Fer Interazar gaming trade fair, the company for the first time presented the “Genie”
cabinet and the two excellent games packages “Merkur Multi” and “Rey de la Suerte” for the Spanish bar
and restaurant sector.
Roulette also plays an important role on the Spanish market. Here, Dosniha cooperates as an exclusive
distributor with the Slovenian company Interblock.
29
MERKUR DIVISION
The business activities of the Gauselmann subsidiaries GeWeTe and HESS are subsumed in the cash and
ticketing segment. The core business activities of both companies focus on the development, production and
sales of money-changing systems for casinos and arcades, coin-operated self-service solutions for banks
and savings banks, as well as payment systems for the public sector, retail companies and other economic
sectors. The modern and innovative systems from GeWeTe and HESS are developed and manufactured in
Germany and Austria and are characterised by their high quality, practicality and user-friendliness. Alongside the continued further development of existing products, the focus is on developing new technologies
and systems. Thanks to the configurability of the software, technology and place of use, all products can be
adapted to meet individual customer requirements. Both GeWeTe and HESS are growing, export-oriented
companies, which in addition to developing existing markets are looking to expand into new markets and
further move ahead with internationalisation. GeWeTe and HESS systems have already been successfully
installed in over 50 countries worldwide, with every second machine in the meantime being sold abroad.
The number of employees in the cash and ticketing activities segment grew slightly in 2014.
GeWeTe
GeWeTe has been developing, manufacturing and selling money-changing machines, pay stations and
Kiddie Rides both nationally and internationally since 1993. In Germany, the company is uncontested market
leader for money-changing machines in the arcades sector and is also one of the largest suppliers of pay
stations and ticketing systems. The company employs a staff of nearly 100 at its development and production
headquarters in Mechernich near Cologne.
30
Product quality and the wide range of products
are important USPs of the money-changing
specialist. The product range extends from small
change machines that change banknotes into
coins to the high-end PC-controlled “Maxi-CashRecycler“ product that counts, validates and
sorts bulk coins and recycles them for further use.
Proprietary hardware and software development
maximises GeWeTe’s flexibility to quickly implement
customised solutions, giving the company a decisive advantage over its competitors in the fields of project
business, pay stations and ticketing and Kiddie Rides. As in all Gauselmann Group companies, GeWeTe
products meet the highest demands of quality, security and user-friendliness, as documented by quality and
environmental management certification in accordance with DIN EN ISO 9001 and 14001.
The main customer groups for GeWeTe’s money-changing systems are arcades and casinos. As a result
of the political constraints and the almost non-existent establishment of new arcades, expansion activities
and the willingness to invest saw a marked decline in the German arcade industry in 2014. The pay station
segment and international business on the other hand grew significantly, so that the company was able to
close the 2014 financial year on a positive note overall.
31
MERKUR DIVISION
The importance of national and international business with arcades and casinos is documented among
other things by attendance at numerous trade fairs, usually together with Merkur Gaming. The positive
feedback on the products showcased at these trade fairs demonstrates that international arcade and casino
operators are also relying more and more on the innovative “made in Germany” solutions from GeWeTe.
The main sales markets are still the UK, Italy and Spain, where GeWeTe in each case has its own local
customer service representatives and technicians. A further focus is Scandinavia. Apart from arcades and
casinos, GeWeTe’s money-changing technology is also used throughout the world in department stores,
libraries, ticketing machines for public transport and other facilities.
Another steadily increasing business sector is the field of sports betting. Similar to arcade operators, sports
betting operators rely upon efficient and effective money management. As the licences for sports betting in
Germany have so far only been issued in Schleswig-Holstein, GeWeTe is placing its focus on international
sales. Here, a large number of cash handling systems have already been installed in sports betting shops
across Europe.
A new field of business is the retail sector with deposit systems and cash handling for transport companies
and car wash facilities. Here, too, 2014 saw a new machine innovation with the “Deposit-Compact”.
GeWeTe pay stations are used internationally as admission control systems for swimming baths and
stadiums, as well as ticket machines for rail and ferry travel, baggage claim machines at airports and in the
municipal sector.
Besides its core business sectors, GeWeTe is continually developing innovative technologies that help
it to tap into new sales markets. Under the Merkur Kids brand, GeWeTe develops, manufactures and sells
machines specifically tuned to the needs of children. The product portfolio includes the “Happy Kids” touchscreen entertainment machine, numerous Kiddie Rides, as well as driving simulators. All products meet the
highest safety standards. GeWeTe is the only manufacturer with a Disney licence for Kiddie Rides. In addition
to the UK, Italy, Spain and Scandinavia, the main sales markets in this area are Australia and the Middle
East.
32
Within the Gauselmann Group, GeWeTe change machine systems are used in the CASINO MERKURSPIELOTHEK arcades in Germany, in the CASINO MERKUR International entertainment centres in other
European countries, as well as at Merkur Win in Italy, the UK arcade chain Cashino and Cashpoint sports
betting offices.
GeWeTe is expecting a positive development of international business for the 2015 financial year,
especially in the pay station and money-changing system segments. There are also plans to further develop
the international distributor network and reinforce own operations in the UK, Italy and Spain. With respect
to change machine systems for arcades in the German market, we must first await the outcome of political
and legal developments.
HESS Group
The HESS Group is made up of HESS Cash Systems GmbH & Co. KG and its subsidiaries HESS Schweiz,
HESS Austria and HESS Latam and develops, manufactures and sells hardware and software solutions
centred around coin and cash handling for banks, retail companies and casinos, as well as payment systems
for public institutions and authorities. The company was founded in 1885 and has belonged to the Gauselmann Group since 2001. HESS currently employs over 190 staff. The company is certified in accordance with
DIN EN ISO 9001 and 14001 for exemplary quality and environmental standards and is also a permanent
member of the CEN/ISSS XFS Committee for Standardisation and Definition of Coin Handling Processes
at Bank Data Centres, as well as various other committees and institutions. These include GS1 Germany as
“Solution Provider Cash Logistics” and OLAF (Office de Lutte Anti Fraude), the European Anti-Fraud Office.
33
MERKUR DIVISION
HESS products and OEM components are characterised by their high quality, availability and durability.
They are developed and produced at the company’s headquarters in Magstadt/Germany and for the Austrian
market in Gratkorn/Austria, where the HESS Austria subsidiary is headquartered. All new developments in
the core fields of “coin” and “payment” systems are developed on HESS’ proprietary software and hardware platforms and go through the entire product life cycle within the company. One important component
of the business model is the fact that HESS offers both sales and service of its own products, which has
attained a high level of acceptance from the market. With the attribute “made in Germany”, HESS stands for
quality, efficiency and precision, as well as its own high quality standards. This is complemented by a pinch
of “Swabian inventive talent” that characterises the company, as well as its products and services.
The main products in the cash handling segment are coin pay-in machines, OEM products, coin-roll
dispensers and deposit systems that are mostly used in the self-service areas of banks and savings banks, as
well as in the retail sector. The main sales markets served by HESS apart from the home market of Germany
are Switzerland and Austria, as well as France, the Netherlands and Australia. These are complemented by
numerous projects successfully implemented on all continents. In the banking sector in 2014, HESS developed
and intensified the cooperation agreements entered into with ATM manufacturers NCR and Wincor Nixdorf
in the national and international spheres.
The market share in the payment systems sector in Germany – as a second mainstay of business – is around
55 percent and is constantly being developed further. As many as 520 projects with the HESS “Multipay”
payment system have been implemented for example in municipal offices and public libraries over the past
20 years, with energy suppliers and public utility companies alone accounting for 110 payment systems and
pay stations in use. More time for service, user-friendliness and individual configuration possibilities, as well
as flexible counter opening hours are just some of the advantages use of payment systems with pay stations
offers. In 2014, this sector was also added to the portfolio of the HESS subsidiaries, thus making it an integral
part of the offering in all core markets in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (D-A-CH).
34
With the further development of the “CoinIn” pay-in machine family, HESS was able to set new standards
on the market in 2014, not only in terms of technology with the TopCoin® product, but also with the typical
Alexander Martin, Board of
Management member (left),
and Ulrich Bauer, HESS
Managing Director, present an
innovative coin pay-in machine
HESS design. Thanks to a uniform conceptual approach – taking account of all relevant stakeholders – a
new generation of machines with a modular design has been developed that is not only easier and cheaper
to produce, but is also easier to service after installation and commissioning – both with regard to hardware
and software. Moreover, the system can be flexibly adapted to the needs of the market or even individual
customers without excessive customisation – from the basic machine through to the fully equipped model. The
new coin pay-in machine was presented to industry professionals for the first time at the FI-Forum, the in-house
trade fair of the German savings banks, in November 2014 and received very positive feedback.
Building on the core coin sorting technology (TopSort), an additional core technology was developed
for the retail sector with coin recycling (TopRec), thus extending the current product portfolio with a new
proprietary HESS back-office solution for retail companies.
Compared to the prior period, the HESS Group achieved sales growth in the 2014 financial year. The ATM
manufacturers’ expectations of successfully developing coin business featuring HESS technology with major
national and international banks were not met to the extent anticipated in 2014. On the other hand, the fact
that growth in the payment systems segment increased significantly both nationally and internationally is an
encouraging sign. This contributes to an essential diversification of the product range and market segmentation
within the HESS Group. HESS also significantly expanded its service business, which in the meantime accounts
for an important and steady share in the sales and earnings of the HESS Group.
With three HESS casino machines from the HESS “Scorpion” product line, a card-based cash and ticketing
system was integrated into the casino system at the new Merkur Spielbank in Leuna-Günthersdorf.
In the ongoing development of core technologies and solutions for banking, retail and payment systems,
the HESS Group took a valuable innovative step in the 2014 business year. This necessitated key investments
that will significantly contribute to the Group’s business success in 2015. Projections linked above all to the
global marketing of new coin-based products and OEM components are pointing to a positive trend with
considerable potential for the HESS Group in 2015 and beyond.
35
MERKUR DIVISION
The cornerstone of a successful product is a high standard of research and development work. The
research and development department within the Gauselmann Group has always played a key role as
the basis for trouble-free hardware and software functionality, as well as the development of appealing
and successful games. Over 450 employees are currently engaged Group-wide in creating the successful
products of the eastern Westphalian games makers, and with their many years of experience they make a
vital contribution to the technology leader’s success.
The Gauselmann Group stands for quality “made in Germany” and produces most of its machine
components at the adp Gauselmann GmbH headquarters in Lübbecke. When it comes to research and
development, the company also relies on quality from within its own ranks, with nearly all basic technologies
being developed close to production in-house. This outstanding quality of the products manufactured by
Gauselmann is documented by certification in accordance with DIN EN ISO 9001:2008, as well as
numerous proprietary patents.
The areas of activity in this segment are varied and cover a wide range of disciplines, for example
mechanical construction of the cabinets, development of hardware components, software development and
games system development in the area of game design including mathematics, video graphics and sound
design. Final quality controls and the registration and administration of patent rights also fall within the remit
of this department.
As industry and technology leader, the family-owned company is continually raising the standard of
innovative machine components. In the 2014 business year alone, the research and development department grew by 50 new jobs. The construction of “Hall 8” as part of the facility expansion at the company’s
36
headquarters in Lübbecke created new office space. This has made a decisive improvement to the work
environment and at the same time made it possible to build three new sound studios.
The company also has a broad basis internationally in the field of research and development. Sixteen
game design teams around the world contribute significantly to the development of the successful products
from the Gauselmann think tank. Proximity to the market and the right feel for what customers want are decisive success factors for the eastern Westphalian games makers. A broadly diversified development basis
also enables the company to focus directly on the different laws, technical requirements or player preferences in the respective national markets. Furthermore, the growing shortage of skilled labour in Germany was
the reason behind the continued expansion of development activities outside Germany, which are focused
primarily on game design. However, as a family-owned company with strong regional roots, the Gauselmann Group continues to place great emphasis on performing the lion’s share of its development work in
Germany and only contracting out development activities to external partners to cover peaks in demand.
In the past business year, development work concentrated largely on an innovative cabinet for the German
market that is to be presented to the general public in 2015. Complete conversion of the machines to fullHD technology, the foundation for which was laid two years ago, was another important focus of activities.
Following several years of development work, the family-owned company from eastern Westphalia was able
to reap the fruits of its labour in December 2014 with the licensing of another highlight – “Merkur Roulette”.
This probably best-known and most popular of all casino games is now set to take German arcades by storm
and create a genuine casino feeling with its free roll of the ball. As the first “real” roulette with prizes and a
construction type licence from the Physikalische-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) for commercial gaming, this
game sets another milestone in the eastern Westphalian family-owned company’s history.
37
MERKUR DIVISION
Other successful games such as “Lucky Pharao“ from Blueprint Gaming or the hybrid reel game “Over
the Top” from Kaiser Spiele also demonstrate that besides technical features such as full-HD or hybrid
technology, the sophisticated game systems offered by the Gauselmann Group take entertainment to a
whole new level.
The restrictive German market also required capacities in 2014 for developments following the adoption
of the new Gaming Ordinance, as well as the new technical directive that came into force in November
2014. Hardware and software components have to be adapted to the stricter legislation, without compromising on the attractiveness of the games. Moreover, from May 2015, applications for new construction
licences are required to be accompanied by a security report confirming that the machine has been built to
be tamper-proof according to the state of the art. With a transitional period until February 2016, legislators
are also requiring technology enabling tamper-free collection of fiscal data. With the additional changes to
specific games parameters, the new Gaming Ordinance has therefore presented a number of challenges
for the development teams not only in 2014, but also in 2015 and beyond.
In the context of the ongoing internationalisation of the Gauselmann Group, the past business year also
saw a series of new developments for the international markets. The focus was mainly on the core markets
Spain, the UK, the Netherlands, as well as South America. As in the case of the German market, these in
some cases heavily regulated sales markets require a lot of sensitivity and country-specific know-how on the
part of the Group to enable it to comply with the far-reaching legal requirements and provide new impetuses
as a trendsetter for the industry. Above all the successful trade fair presentations of the “Avantgarde SLT”
cabinet and the eye-catcher “Ozone” last year showed that the eastern Wesphalian Gauselmann Group
is fully capable of meeting these challenges.
38
Research and development are an integral part of the Gauselmann corporate philosophy and a guarantee of the company’s success
As the name suggests, the futuristic “Avantgarde SLT” stands for progressive design and technology –
making it ideal for innovative and modern arcades. The clear-cut design with flashing LED elements is both
stylish and classy. A further highlight: in the “Avantgarde SLT”, the latest HD games are already integrated.
The innovative “Ozone” orb also attracted a lot of attention on the part of international trade insiders. It
promises an exclusive gaming experience with rich 2.1 stereo sound effects and brilliant images in full-HD
technology.
The secret to the success of the developments made by Gauselmann lies in consistent monitoring of
the market. As a manufacturer and operating company, the Group has timely and valid input available
from its own operating segment, enabling it to track developments that have been introduced or respond
promptly to changing requirements and trends in the respective markets. With new initiatives such as the
Merkur Advisory Board or employing games scouts, the games makers have always promoted active and
continuous dialogue between manufacturer, operating companies and final customers.
New challenges for research and development have also arisen in the server-based gaming (SBG) systems,
video lottery terminals (VLTs) and jackpot solutions segments. Here, the trend is moving away from stand-alone
machines in favour of outsourcing the functionalities to a central server. Although this is not yet licensed in all
national markets, the advantages speak for themselves: complete networking for example means that software in the individual machines needs to be replaced less frequently and business processes across machines
or locations become more transparent. It also provides additional protection against manipulation attempts.
In 2015, research and development work will continue to focus on implementing the new Gaming
Ordinance, as well as on the ongoing internationalisation of the Gauselmann Group. In addition to the
continued further development of stationary games on gaming machines, the development of online and
mobile games is gaining increasing importance.
39
Games makers in the UK
Blueprint Gaming Ltd.
As a developer of digital gaming content,
Blueprint Gaming is in high demand in the UK
and beyond. The Blueprint product portfolio
includes games for land-based and server-based
markets, as well as for the online and mobile
sectors. The company is also one of the leading UK suppliers of gaming machines and has
offices in the UK, the US and in the Philippines.
At Blueprint Gaming, a team of 65 is working
continuously to maintain and strengthen the
company’s market position as an innovation driver
of the digital revolution.
Blueprint Gaming Ltd.
“Video-based multigamer products are
opening up new market opportunities.”
Matt Cole is Managing Director of Digital Gaming
at Blueprint Gaming and has significantly contributed to the company’s successes in the online sector.
Matt Cole
How is the UK gaming market currently
developing?
Although the introduction of the new POC (point of
consumption) tax of 15 percent for online gaming
has impacted revenues in this sector, the general
gaming market in the UK is progressing well at
the moment, thanks to the improving economic
situtation.
Is there a difference when developing products for arcades or the pubs and restaurants
sector?
In the UK land-based business, historically there
have been significant differences between games
that work well in arcades and the games offering
for the pubs/restaurants sector. More recently,
however, there is a trend emerging whereby the
growing success of video-based multigamer products in the pub market is driving a shift towards slot
games that previously were only successful in the
arcade and betting shops market.
What role does the online gaming market
play at Blueprint Gaming?
Globally, the online gaming sector is expanding
strongly and the nature of the business enables
us to enter a broader range of markets, and although the European core markets are becoming
more mature and competitive, Blueprint Gaming
is m
anaging to increasing its market share.
UMWELTSCHUTZ
SPIELOTHEK DIVISION
“Spielothek has been the trendsetter in modern entertainment centres
for 40 years! In Germany, we are continuously driving the development
of our offering forward in order to strengthen our market leadership.
However, tapping into and developing new target markets internationally, as well as testing completely new entertainment concepts,
are also becoming more important than ever.”
Dieter Kuhlmann, Board of Management member
In the 2014 financial year, CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK celebrated its 40th anniversary. With the
opening of the first MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK in Delmenhorst in 1974, company founder Paul Gauselmann
took leisure-time entertainment with gaming and amusement machines to a whole new level as the first
in the industry to rely on four success factors that are still pivotal to the company’s success today: state-ofthe-art products, qualified staff, optimum customer service and a stylish atmosphere. As a provider of firstclass entertainment centres, the Gauselmann CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK subsidiary leads the market
in Germany. In 2014, 234 modern entertainment centres were in operation under the logo of the laughing
Merkur sun. In Germany, 3,200-plus committed employees play an important role in positively shaping the
image of the CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK arcades.
In 2015, CASINO MERKURSPIELOTHEK is the only
company in the industry to
receive a “Top Employer”
award
44
Despite numerous restrictions on commercial gaming, the Spielothek Division closed the 2014 financial year
on a positive note. The effects of the First State Treaty on the Amendment of the State Treaty on Gambling
in Germany (“First Amended Interstate Gambling Treaty”) signed in December 2011, the respective state
arcade laws, additional restrictions and tax increases particularly impacted the operating result. Under the
provisions of the First Amended Interstate Gambling Treaty, arcades whose gaming licence was issued after
28 October 2011, and in particular those with multi-concessions, have been granted a five-year transition
period. State arcade laws in various forms have been in force in all federal states since July or December
2012 respectively. These stipulate extended closing times, as well as distance regulations of between
100 and 500 metres (depending on the state) between arcades and social facilities. The advertising presentation
of arcades is also subject to different regulations, depending on the state or municipality. For example, entertainment centres must in future be referred to as “arcades”, and it is no longer permitted to use the term “Spielothek”
Umweltschutz
Anniversary – Spielothek turns 40
A journey back in time …
Bold colours set the tone in the early years
Modern entertainment centre 2014
or “casino”. Especially restrictive laws apply for Berlin and Hamburg. These require one supervisor per concession to be present, who is, however, not permitted to perform all the duties of a service employee. This, in turn, has
a demotivating effect on the staff. In Berlin, it is also prohibited to serve food and drink. Although in contradiction
to the national Gaming Ordinance, the Berlin state government passed a law requiring the number of gaming
machines to be reduced from 12 to eight per concession from August 2014. A similar law applies in Hamburg,
but its effects were successfully mitigated through court proceedings. In the state of Hesse, entrance control systems had to be installed in all arcades effective from 1 May 2014. Tax increases were an additional burden in
2014. Amusement tax was raised by 7.5 percent compared to 2013, which led to an increase in costs of several
million euros. The constitutionality of the provisions of the arcade laws and of the Interstate Gambling Treaty has
been reviewed and an appeal filed, but with no concrete outcome as yet. On 8 December 2014, the Seventh
Gaming Ordinance came into force, introducing numerous additional restrictions. Due to a transitional arrangement, the impacts for machine installation are not expected to be felt until 2018.
As was already the case in the previous business year, the restrictions severely impacted expansion
activities of CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK. In 2014, new entertainment centres were opened only in
Wuppertal, Hamelin and Moers. At the 234 German locations, a total of 10,871 machines were in operation, more than 10,000 of which are gaming machines and the rest amusement machines without prizes.
Due to the increasingly difficult parameters for commercial gaming, CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK is
branching out into more and more new fields of activity such as Planet Lasertag, run by the Gauselmann
World of Game and Internet (WGI) subsidiary.
45
SPIELOTHEK DIVISION
Introduction of standardised outdoor advertising in 1978
Amusement machines such as Flipper were very popular in the early years
Since the end of 2014, Planet Lasertag arenas have opened in Oberhausen and Hanover, respectively.
Lasertag is still a relatively unknown form of leisure-time entertainment in Germany. The Planet Lasertag
arenas feature a course that players run through either in group or individual games. With so-called markers
– also known as phasers – they target other participants with infrared lasers and collect points. For the
overall concept experts were drawn on from different CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK departments. Planet
Lasertag also builds on the successful mix of service, well-trained staff, state-of-the-art equipment and a
modern atmosphere.
In the course of CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK’s 40-year existence, the alignment of the four success
factors has been continuously adapted and enhanced in line with the needs of the market. This applies
above all to the numerous training and further education measures offered to staff. Over the decades the
training programme has been continuously professionalised and extended. Since 2008, the company has
offered industry-specific IHK professional training as “coin-op service technician” and “coin-op specialist”,
the recognition of which was promoted by company founder Paul Gauselmann. Staff working at CASINO
MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK entertainment centres with no professional qualifications, or no longer working in the
profession they have learned, are given the opportunity to additionally take a so-called “external exam” and,
providing they meet certain criteria, obtain the fully fledged IHK professional qualification as “coin-op service
46
Early uniform
In 1986, the Gauselmann Group opened
its first international entertainment centre
in Amsterdam (the Netherlands)
Driving and flight simulation become more complex
technician”. 40 employees passed the external exam in 2014. The concept, developed by CASINO
MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK in 2012 in cooperation with the TÜV Rheinland Academy and the Employment
Agency as sponsors, has proved popular and is now offered for the entire coin-op sector. Furthermore,
employees from CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK entertainment centres can take an in-house training course
and qualify as a “casino service specialist (IHK)”. In 2014, 79 employees successfully completed this oneyear training course. The company training and further education portfolio is rounded off by training in new
products, extensive induction training for new management staff at the flagship store in Espelkamp and socalled kick-off events for new employees. A regular “qualifying campaign” is also organised, during which all
staff from the service headquarters and the branches are informed about current topics and developments.
The offering has a positive effect on staff satisfaction. This was also reflected in 2014 by the nomination as “Top Employer” in the industry. CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK was thus among the 800 awardwinning companies in Germany whose staff particularly enjoy their work. The “Top National Employers”
were determined by “Focus” magazine. Closely linked to the “training and further education success factor”
is the first-class service that sets CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK apart from its competitors. In 2013, the
company was voted “Service-Champion Bronze 2013” and came first in the “Arcades” category within the
context of a nationwide service study by the newspaper “Die Welt”. The training offerings as well as these
47
SPIELOTHEK DIVISION
Paul Gauselmann invented the modern arcade. He constantly developed the
branch concept, here together with his son Michael
“Sunny’s Bar” was the precursor to the subsequent Casino bar
awards enable CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK to promote staff loyalty and thus counter the increasing
shortage of specialised staff.
A stylish atmosphere and state-of-the-art products round off the successful CASINO MERKURSPIELOTHEK concept. The high-quality and sophisticated interiors of the entertainment centres are devised
by the “Creative and Design Development” department in Espelkamp, taking account of corporate design
guidelines. In terms of exterior design, the company also relies on a modern, distinctive design. In the past,
the installation of photovoltaic (PV) systems on the roofs of entertainment centres has addressed the issue
of environmental protection. In 2014, the company invested in further PV systems on its own buildings and
in this way continued the trend towards utilising renewable energy sources. In terms of products, guests at
CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK arcades are always offered a wide range of state-of-the-art gaming machines featuring a variety of games. The majority of products are developed and produced by Gauselmann’s
adp subsidiary. More than 7,500 games packages were replaced in the CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK
arcades in 2014 in total, ensuring guests are offered cutting-edge entertainment at all times. In early
2015, the “Merkur Roulette” with real roll of the ball was also introduced for the first time.
48
The first obligatory uniform in the Merkur entertainment
centres was mauve
For the external design of the branches Spielothek
developed poster frames with replaceable sheets –
here the Easter decorations for the branches in 1992
Pool was especially popular with guests in the 1990s
and early 2000s
The high standard of quality at CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK is not only reflected in the four success
factors, but also through certification of the company by TÜV Rheinland in accordance with DIN EN ISO
9001:2008. The main company office was certified in 2013 and the process was extended to the operating
companies and entertainment centres from September 2014. As part of the certification, processes and
procedures were described and reviewed in regular internal and external audits. The official TÜV certificate
was received in February 2015.
For CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK, responsibility towards the guests plays an important role. High
priority is therefore given to responsible gaming and prevention. For many years, the responsible officers at
CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK have cooperated in this field within the framework of external courses with
experts from the Caritasverband für das Erzbistum Berlin e.V. (Caritas Association for the Archdiocese of
Berlin). The subject is also part of the further education and training measures. Further courses are planned
in 2015. The requisite social programmes were created for all federal states in 2013.
49
SPIELOTHEK DIVISION
In the 1990s, the new uniform was blue
and yellow
The “Trendy” amusement machine came onto
the market in 2001 and attracted new customer
groups
Thanks to excellent preparation, converting the machines from
D-mark to euro was child’s play
Despite all the constraints and restrictions, business developed positively in 2014. In light of the
attractive portfolio offered by CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK, this trend can be expected to continue in
2015, accompanied by the generation of new customers. Here the company continues to rely on the four
success factors personnel, customer service, products and atmosphere. Nevertheless, the next financial
year will also be impacted by restrictions and negative influences. For example, following the example of
Hesse, additional entrance control systems will be required. These are expected to be installed in RhinelandPalatinate in Q3 2015 and similar plans are also being considered in Baden-Württemberg. Experiences already made in Hesse can serve in future to optimise the implementation of such controls. As in the
2014 financial year, negative impacts will come from the further increase in the amusement tax, which at
some locations already has a stranglehold effect. For 2015, this is expected to burden all locations to the
extent of 14.6 percent of earnings. Based on legal opinions, the company will contest the level of amusement
tax before the courts.
50
The “Kasino-Bar” in the 2000s
CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK has always stood for an exclusive atmosphere.
The interior design of the arcades conforms to the spirit of the times
The company installs photovoltaic systems on
the roofs of its own Spielothek premises
The political situation poses new challenges for the commercial gaming sector. The task at hand is to
adapt existing structures to the changing circumstances and develop new, innovative areas of activity. In
2015, the company plans to test new types of arcade branches. One focus in the development of new
business areas lies on Planet Lasertag. Here, the company intends to open new Planet Lasertag arenas.
Furthermore, it aims to leverage the decades of experience gained by CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK in
the area of branch management by assuming these tasks for external arcade operators.
51
SPIELOTHEK DIVISION
Armin Gauselmann congratulates
the best trainees nationwide
CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK celebrates new openings with a
spectacular programme – here the “Ehrlich Brothers”
Staff wearing the latest uniform
The Gauselmann Group opened its first international entertainment centre in Amsterdam in 1986. In
2005, Merkur Casino GmbH was founded to promote international arcade expansion. It was later renamed
and currently trades as CASINO MERKUR International GmbH. Under the logo of the laughing Merkur
sun and brand images adapted to the respective market, CASINO MERKUR International GmbH in the
past business year operated 218 modern entertainment centres in nine European countries with a total of
2,165 employees in Bulgaria, the UK, Croatia, the Netherlands, Austria, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain and the
Czech Republic. The number of employees thus grew significantly in the 2014 financial year.
Just as in the German affiliate CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK, the emphasis for international arcades
is also placed on the four success factors products, employees, customer service and atmosphere, with the
range individually tailored to the needs and cultural specificities of the respective local markets. Due to the
heterogeneous general conditions in the different countries, the company once again faced diverging market
situations in 2014. In all countries, the offering found increasing acceptance in the entertainment centres.
Following the takeover of the British Praesepe Group in 2012, which represented the largest acquisition in
the company’s history, the development of business in 2014 was even more positive compared to the prior
year. The company also forged ahead with the integration of Praesepe. The arcades in Romania and in
Granada on the Spanish mainland were sold, generating improved earnings. New entertainment centres
were opened in Teplice (Czech Republic), in Košice and Bratislava (Slovakia), in Sofia (Bulgaria) and in
52
CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK also sponsors TuS N-Lübbecke
For many CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK arcades the company
has already received the “Golden Jack” industry “Oscar”
Aalsmeer (the Netherlands). On the whole, expansion activities in all countries were very restrained, as
developments with respect to the regulatory framework were difficult to gauge. In Italy, the so-called shops
– a combination of sports betting shop and entertainment centre – were sold because of the unattractive
legal parameters.
In all countries, increasing political pressure on the part of the authorities could still be detected, due
mainly to the negative reputation and the abuse of the legal system by a few arcade operators. CASINO
MERKUR International saw a greater need for discussion regarding tougher regulations and higher taxes,
the external image of entertainment centres and licence extensions in 2014. Above all in the Czech Republic
and the Netherlands, increased requirements were imposed with respect to entrance controls with capture of
guests’ personal data. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, communication with the respective authorities was
improved, avoiding further closures in 2014. High competition density can be observed in the Netherlands
and Slovakia, and in the Netherlands protection of non-smokers had a strong negative impact. Increased
fees and taxes led on the one hand to market consolidation, accompanied for CASINO MERKUR International by a reduction in earnings.
In terms of the gaming offering, an increasing trend towards online gaming could be observed in some
countries, which led to the migration of customers away from arcades. The trend towards video lottery
53
SPIELOTHEK DIVISION
International business is
expanding continuously
CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK sponsors
the Wok world championship
There are also several branches on the
sunny island of Majorca
terminals (VLTs) and server-based gaming (SBG) systems that are permanently linked to a central server and
are operated under the direct online supervision of the respective finance ministry continued. Products from
the Gauselmann subsidiary Merkur Gaming, as well as jackpot systems, were increasingly implemented in
foreign arcades. The products from the Gauselmann Group are adapted to take account of local conditions and the gaming preferences of the guests in the respective country and are constantly being refined.
They found wide acceptance especially in the UK, Spain and the Netherlands. In the Netherlands this was
particularly the case for the Merkur multigamers, and in Serbia the innovative “High Flyer” gaming machine
with its “floating” monitor proved extremely popular. In the field of new technologies, the company is trying
out a self-designed and self-developed playing card system, initially in the Czech Republic.
To ensure it is well-positioned to weather future challenges, CASINO MERKUR International optimised
its internal structures and processes. This involved developing international guidelines and organisational
charts, holding regular central and decentralised alignment meetings and implementing a new regional
controlling system. As with the German affiliate CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK, staff training and further
education, as well as the service philosophy, played an important role at CASINO MERKUR International.
The offering was therefore further optimised in 2014 and new staff training and promotion concepts were
introduced. Based on the concepts and many years of experience of CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK in
Germany, induction training courses were organised for new management staff in the flagship stores of the
respective country. These were complemented by ongoing training in the product segment, as well as –
initially in Slovakia – management and personality seminars. As in Germany, staff were also sensitised to
the topic of “consumer protection” and offered corresponding training. In the Czech Republic and Serbia,
team-building events were held aimed at strengthening staff quality and loyalty.
54
TÜV Rheinland certifies the headquarters of CASINO
MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK GmbH to DIN EN ISO 9001:2008
“Exceptional” is the motto of
CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK since 2014
CASINO MERKUR International also relies on
exclusive interior and exterior design of its branches,
as here in Almere (the Netherlands)
In addition to the extensive training offerings, CASINO MERKUR International also optimised the quality
of its customer service by developing and implementing detailed and binding customer service concepts.
Innovative communication concepts were developed aimed at improving the customer approach. In
Slovakia, modern technology such as digital signage was used to communicate advertising and information
on electronic posters in and at the branches. In the Czech Republic, a proprietary Web radio was introduced
for the first time which offered music and information tailored to the players’ interests. The company also
made increasing use of communication channels such as Twitter and Facebook in many countries and provided information via the CASINO MERKUR International website. In the Netherlands, where the first-class
customer service at the CASINO MERKUR International arcades enjoys a particularly good reputation, the
company extended the DEKRA certification in order to place even greater emphasis on the unique quality
of the entertainment centres.
Despite the challenges described above, the 2014 financial year was a positive one overall for CASINO
MERKUR International. In 2015, the focus will be on consolidation, with expansion continuing at a very
restrained pace. Optimisation of clear and binding structures and processes, as well as improved cost
structures, will also have high priority in 2015. In this context, the company will continue to align with its
CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK affiliate. In this way, it is intended to achieve or expand the market leadership in some countries. The company is also aiming to develop new markets outside Europe, and carefully
examines and analyses the existing markets in which it operates.
In 2013, CASINO MERKURSPIELOTHEK received the
“Service Champion Bronze”
award and was distinguished
as the sole company from the
industry
55
Games makers in Germany
MEGA Spielgeräte Entwicklungs- und Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH und Co. KG
MEGA Spielgeräte Entwicklungs- und Vertriebs
gesellschaft mbH & Co. KG was founded in 1988 in
Limburg an der Lahn. The company specialises in
the development of jackpot systems, multigamers for
the Dutch market and games for the Merkur-Magie
multigamer portfolio. The products developed in
Limburg are manufactured in accordance with
ISO 9001 standards at the adp Gauselmann GmbH
headquarters in Lübbecke. The company currently
employs a staff of around 30.
MEGA Spielgeräte
Entwicklungs- und Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH und Co. KG
“Gaming is characterised by uncertainty.”
Dr Jörg Bewersdorff
Dr Jörg Bewersdorff is Head of Development and
co-founded the company 27 years ago. Apart
from his job at MEGA, the holder of a doctorate
in mathematics is also a Managing Director of the
Gauselmann subsidiary GeWeTe.
What is the fascination of gaming as far as
you are concerned?
Gaming – quite generally – is characterised by
uncertainty. The immediate future of the microcosm
you find yourself in lies in the dark and that creates
excitement and entertainment.
MEGA is market leader for jackpot systems
in Germany and for multigamers in the
Dutch market. What is the basis for this
success?
Slot gaming is extremely diverse. The decisive
elements are the game, the rules and the progress
of the game. But ultimately, only those who find
the right combination of hardware, software,
legal requirements, mathematics, graphics, video
design and sound are successful.
To what extent does your personal taste
influence the development?
In fact the reverse is true: you mustn’t let your
personal taste interfere, and have to base your
decisions on objective criteria based on the
results of the iterative development process as
well as on market research.
SPIELOTHEK DIVISION
The Gauselmann Group has been active in the casino sector since 2013. The company was granted
licences to operate public casinos in Germany for the first time in 2014.
In 2013, Merkur Spielbanken Sachsen-Anhalt GmbH & Co. KG won the tender for the licence to operate
public casinos in the state of Saxony-Anhalt and thus prevailed in the context of a Europe-wide bid for
tenders. In Saxony-Anhalt it is permitted to open a total of two casinos and four coin-op machine arcades.
The company’s partner is Swiss Stadtcasino Baden AG, which operates Switzerland’s largest casino.
Decisive reasons for the choice were criteria such as professionalism in the field, economic soundness,
as well as social concepts and location strategies. In the same year, Merkur Spielbanken Sachsen-Anhalt
received the licensing assurance and, in 2014, the licence to operate public casinos in Saxony-Anhalt was
granted.
In December 2014, the Merkur Spielbank in Leuna-Günthersdorf (Saxony-Anhalt) opened its doors.
It is Germany’s most modern casino, with a unique concept combining classic games such as blackjack,
poker and roulette with slot machine games. Ten casino tables and 120 gaming machines are available
altogether. There is also a stage for events and a lounge and bar area where food is served. Designed by
renowned architects Günter Merckle and Axel Jung, the casino is located in a roof-only building flanked by
two pavilions, close to a large shopping centre and the A9 motorway.
60
The first Merkur Spielbank was opened in Leuna-Günthersdorf (Saxony-Anhalt)
For the operating company, being modern also means that guests are welcome to come in the clothes
they feel comfortable in. While guests are expected to dress appropriately, it is not compulsory to wear a suit
and tie. At the Merkur Spielbank in Leuna-Günthersdorf, professionally trained staff and first-class customer
service are top priorities. The opening of the casino has led to the creation of more than 40 new jobs, and this
number is likely to increase. All staff have received extensive training, and have been intensively prepared
for their new tasks.
However, it is not just the first-class service and the games and entertainment offered that make the
Merkur Spielbank in Leuna-Günthersdorf the most modern of its kind in Germany. Use of state-of-the-art
technology in all areas is also part of the concept. For example, the Merkur Spielbank in Leuna-Günthersdorf
(Saxony-Anhalt) is the only casino in the world to feature a special ticketing system that is used not only
for slot machines, but also for classic games, making the traditional cash counter redundant. The intelligent
“idrop” system, comprising a banknote acceptor, a ticket printer and a touchscreen display, is integrated into
all casino tables in the classic games area. The dealers at the tables accept either cash or tickets, which they
then exchange directly for chips. Chips can be paid out again quite simply by the dealer issuing a ticket with
the corresponding value. The guest can then use the ticket at another table, to play electronic roulette or on
the coin-op machines. A ticket printed out on one of the gaming machines can be used directly at the tables
in classic game play. Anybody wishing to have their ticket paid out in cash can do so conveniently at the
“Scorpion” brand multifunctional system from the Gauselmann subsidiary HESS. Three of these machines
are installed at the casino in Leuna-Günthersdorf.
61
SPIELOTHEK DIVISION
The ticketing system offers guests greater convenience, freedom of choice and flexibility. For the Merkur
Spielbank in Leuna-Günthersdorf the ticketing system also has numerous advantages. For example, all
gaming options – from the gaming machines, via electronic roulette to classic game play – are linked via the
system. At the classic casino tables the amount put in is available at all tables in real time. Chips stay on the
tables. This means less than half the amount of chips are needed in the casino. While traditionally in casinos
chips are bought and paid out at cash counters and consequently there are not many chips at the tables,
in the Merkur Spielbank they remain at the tables. The ticketing system therefore offers greater security and
playing comfort. High security standards are additionally set in the Merkur Spielbank with 150 surveillance
cameras in the indoor and outdoor areas.
The Merkur Spielbank in Saxony-Anhalt is also the first casino in Europe to undergo accreditation by the
internationally renowned Global Gambling Guidance Group (G4), thus breaking new ground with respect
to the issue of responsible gaming. As part of the accreditation process, which started before the casino
opened, the G4 experts examined the effectiveness of the responsible gaming measures put in place for the
Merkur Spielbanken Sachsen-Anhalt and controlled their conformity with the strict G4 accreditation guidelines,
for example compliance with the statutory requirements, integration of responsible gaming guidelines into
internal processes and responsibility for their implementation. The accreditation process consisted of several
62
stages. First, all player protection measures had to be listed in detail in an accreditation concept, described
and submitted to the G4. This was followed by several on-site accreditation audits, in which all measures
and their internal implementation were assessed and examined. On the occasion of the opening event, the
spokesman of the G4 Group Management Board presented the G4 accreditation for player protection to
the Directors of the Merkur Spielbank in Leuna-Günthersdorf.
To enable it to also live up to the claim of being Germany’s most modern casino in the future, the operating
company is intending to continue to invest in the Leuna-Günthersdorf location. In 2015, it is planned to open
a casino in Magdeburg.
63
Games makers in India
Merkur Gaming India Pvt. Ltd., Lucky Nugget Gaming Pvt. Ltd.
India is considered to be one of the world’s strongholds for research and development in the fields
of IT and software. The Gauselmann Group has
been present on the Indian subcontinent with its
two subsidiaries Merkur Gaming India and Lucky
Nugget Gaming for nearly three years. Merkur
Gaming India and Lucky Nugget Gaming are
active in many areas for the Gauselmann Group,
especially in app development and game design.
The range of tasks extends from creating new
games and gaming products, via technical implementation and programming, to success monitoring
and marketing support.
Merkur Gaming India Pvt. Ltd.
Lucky Nugget Gaming Pvt. Ltd.
“Reliable technology ‘made in Germany’
meets creative content ‘made in India’.”
Pankaj Bhatia
Pankaj Bhatia is Managing Director of the two
subsidiaries and collaborates with a highly motivated and talented team of around 60 designers,
technicians and engineers. The trained IT specialist
has worked in the gaming industry for over ten years,
and is a co-founder of both Lucky Nugget Gaming
and Merkur Gaming India.
What characterises India as a location –
especially in the area of games development?
The Indian and Asian cultures are in general strongly
influenced by their artistic history, which is still evident
today from the high affinity for art and design.
In addition to this, India boasts a highly qualified
and specialised pool of IT professionals. These are
important factors that are particularlyadvantageous
in areas such as software development and game
design. At Merkur GamingIndia and Lucky Nugget
Gaming, reliable technology “made in Germany”
meets creative content “made in India”. The result is
exciting and entertaining gaming products that are
played all over the world.
So you would describe the German-Indian
collaboration as successful?
I can answer that with a definite yes. Right from the
start of the first joint projects we had regular on-site
visits and meetings, in both locations, of course.
This active exchange provided new stimuli and
enormously enhanced the development of innova
tive products within the Gauselmann Group.
What role do gaming trends play in
development?
We firmly believe in the success of each and every
product and game that we bring to the market. In
an increasingly globalised gaming world, trends
are no longer as ground-breaking or regional in
scope as they used to be. There are also countless
niche products that are enormously successful.
And to a lesser extent it still depends on whether
a game is launched at the right time, with the right
components and on the right market.
NEW MEDIA
“The online gaming market is continuing to grow rapidly, offering
customers as it does the possibility to enjoy their favourite games
anytime, anywhere. Within the Gauselmann Group we have taken
the right measures to allow us to successfully leverage this potential
on regulated and licensed markets.”
Alexander Martin, Board of Management member
Online gaming
Online gaming is one of the major growth markets in the gaming industry and harbours enormous potential
for the market participants. The Gauselmann Group has been active in this segment with its subsidiary edict
eGaming GmbH as a specialist for online casino solutions since 2008. edict eGaming GmbH specialises in
the development and sales of turnkey systems and games platforms for the online casino market. Apart from
pure software licensing, the company also assumes responsibility for overall technical operation of the system
as well as monitoring for its customers. The flexible system architecture also means the design of the respective
portals can be realised completely independently of the software.
Platform development is sited in Germany, while operation and marketing are managed from the Isle of
Man. The necessary gaming licence was granted by the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission in
2010.
The business activities of the Hamburg-based software company cover the entire European market, with
a particular focus on sales within the licensed markets within the European Union, such as Malta, the UK,
Spain and Schleswig-Holstein. edict eGaming GmbH sells its products exclusively in the B2B segment. The
company has no plans to operate its own online casino platform under the edict eGaming brand so long as
this is prohibited in Germany.
The market for online casino solutions is subject to many differing regional and national gaming regulations.
While these rules constitute statutes relating to the operation of online casino portals in end-customer business,
68
The “New Media” Division includes online gaming, financial
services and sports betting
they nevertheless also have repercussions for providers of system and games platforms. edict eGaming
GmbH therefore continuously improves its software in compliance with the respective statutory requirements
and adapts its products to the constantly changing requirements of the market.
In the 2014 financial year, edict developed the market for game supplies with the “edict game bridge”,
a so-called remote game server. This is an extension of the existing product offering and enables games to
be delivered to other online casino systems via a remote game server. This enables edict to supply games
to customers that do not operate with the turnkey solution, a customisable software suite for the operation of
online casinos. With this new business segment, the company is primarily addressing customers that already
have an existing online casino system and merely wish to extend their casino platform with additional games.
The “edict game bridge” has received an extremely positive response from the market and opens up new
customer potential for the company. Just as with the server landscape for the turnkey solution, the remote game
server also uses only state-of-the-art high-performance technologies and equipment.
The edict turnkey solution is currently also used in the operation of the Group-own online casinos
of the Gauselmann subsidiaries Cashpoint Malta Ltd. and Praesepe Plc. This concerns the portals
www.merkur-spielcasino.de and www.cashino.com. While www.cashino.com is directed at adult end users
resident in the UK, www.merkur-spielcasino.de gives adult users resident in Schleswig-Holstein the possibility to play legally for money prizes. After having successfully passed the extensive audits carried out in
2012 by the Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of the Interior in connection with the issuing of sports betting and online
casino licences, Cashpoint started operating its online casino in Schleswig-Holstein in 2013 under the portal
www.merkur-spielcasino.de.
69
NEW MEDIA
For the 2015 business year, the company intends to realise an online casino in Spain to be operated by
the Gauselmann Group. Furthermore, in the first half-year it is also planned to import games into the system of
Merkur Interactive Italia via the “edict game bridge”.
In addition to the “edict game bridge”, the company released more than 28 new games in the 2014 financial year. As in the previous years, the game releases were all successful, which was reflected in the positive
development of gaming revenues on the part of the customer portals.
In the completed business year, a number of measures were taken aimed at optimally preparing the
planned market entry in Spain in 2015 and ensuring the company’s ability to comply with the modified
licensing conditions in the UK. Corresponding licence applications were submitted in both countries and work
on necessary software modifications got underway. Moreover, the company was able to tap new markets,
for example Malta, in 2014 thanks to the new “edict game bridge”.
One of the biggest challenges in the past business year was again the tense situation on the market for IT
specialists. Attempts were made to counter this by stepping up recruitment activities and initiating measures
aimed at enhancing staff motivation. Thus the staff level at edict remained stable in 2014. The successful concept for promoting and training junior staff was continued.
Despite a significant growth in sales in 2014, earnings fell short of expectations as a result of legal
uncertainties in some European countries and the attendant problems for existing customers. Based on the
continuing increase in sales coupled with the high demand for the “edict game bridge” and the resulting
acquisition of new customers, edict eGaming GmbH expects the positive business development to continue in
the medium term – and that the planned product extension of the turnkey solution and the release of a higher
number of new games will contribute significantly to sales development and consequently to positive figures
in the black.
70
Financial services
Financial services
The market for payments via the Internet and mobile devices is growing rapidly worldwide. Online
commerce is enjoying uninterrupted dynamism. With the increasing use of mobile end devices, methods of
payment are also adapting to the new digital age, with as many as a quarter of all online purchases already
being made via smartphones or tablets.
With the acquisition of a majority shareholding in the Euro Payment Group (EPG) in 2014, the Gauselmann
Group has tapped the financial services business segment. The payment services company headquartered
in Frankfurt am Main operates worldwide in the areas of online payment, mobile payment and gateway
services, specialising in the digital entertainment market.
The main business activities of EPG in the past financial year focused on the markets in Germany, the US
and the UK. On the whole, the company achieved a positive business performance, with sales up by 20 percent over the previous year. In 2014, the focus was primarily on further development of the “iCushy” product
in order to enhance user-friendliness and acceptance among retailers and users. “iCushy“ is a secure and
convenient app-based method of payment that enables mobile users to simplify online payments by entering
a PIN. By leveraging a variety of marketing measures and the existing network of business partners, the
company was able to steadily increase awareness of the “iCushy” brand in the digital entertainment sector.
For 2015, the goal is to obtain the Financial Institution Licence and the Electronic Money Institution Licence
(sub-bank licence) in Malta, which will open up new possibilities in the gaming sector. The Gauselmann Group
aims to handle all financial services transactions via the services offered by EPG in future. By extending the
portfolio with inclusion of alternative methods of payment, for example Giropay, Sofortüberweisung (instant
transfer), paysafecard and Neteller, EPG has strengthened its competitiveness and in 2015 will continue to
expand in the online commerce and digital entertainment sectors.
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NEW MEDIA
Sports betting shop in Kiel
Sports betting
The Austrian company Cashpoint has belonged to the Gauselmann Group since 2005. Cashpoint is a
provider of sports betting services. Cashpoint’s products are sold in the target markets online, in its own betting
shops and via franchise partners. Cashpoint also operates as an agency for bookmaker and IT services. The
focus of activities is in Germany, Austria and Denmark, and Cashpoint is also active in Belgium and the UK.
The company is present in these markets with its Cashpoint and X-TiP brands.
Since the Amended Interstate Gambling Treaty came into force in Germany in mid-2012, the government
has no longer had a monopoly on sports betting. Since then, those federal states that signed the Amended
Interstate Gambling Treaty have sought to issue licences to reliable services providers. Due to the ban
on sports betting in casinos, this main sales channel for Cashpoint in Germany dried up completely after
2012, leading to corresponding losses. However, so far Schleswig-Holstein is the only state to have granted
licences, among others to Cashpoint. This paved the way for the opening of two initial sports betting shops in
mid-2014 under the newly created “X-TiP” brand label, the first in Kiel, and a second in Rendsburg.
In the other 15 federal states, the licensing procedure is still ongoing. On 2 September 2014, the top
20 companies foreseen for a so-called E15 licence on the grounds of their compelling application procedure,
with the Gauselmann Group as frontrunner, were announced. However, those not considered for a licence
immediately took legal action and brought the licensing procedure to a standstill. Hence the legal situation in
Germany remains unclear. This is a particular concern because cost-intensive sponsoring contracts have been
signed with the German premier league football clubs Hertha BSC Berlin and VfL Wolfsburg, as well as with
the German Ice Hockey League (DEL), among others.
In the other markets, i.e. Denmark and Austria, the legal situation was clarified years ago, so that both
bricks-and-mortar and online business related to sports betting has continuously evolved. In Denmark, for
example, Cashpoint has established itself as the second-largest provider in the stationary sector after the
government provider. In Austria, Cashpoint is one of the leading providers thanks to its long-standing presence
in the market.
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Sports betting
“Merkur Bet Book”
The software systems needed for marketing and administration of sports betting, both on- and offline, is
designed and developed by a dedicated development team. This makes it possible to respond flexibly and
dynamically to changing market situations at all times. The Cashpoint system also offers a wide range of application possibilities in both the stationary and online sectors. End customers have the option to utilise all services
seamlessly, whether on- or offline, including mobile devices, with a special loyalty card.
The launch of the new “Merkur Bet Book” sports betting terminal last year marked the market debut of a
new adp Gauselmann product family. In collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute, Cashpoint developed a
user interface for selling sports bets, the “BetApp”, especially for this innovative machine. The combination of
future-oriented hardware with an optimum user interface concept generated much positive feedback from the
market and a high level of acceptance with end users.
On the whole, the business development in 2014 was very positive in all markets. Total sales increased by
53 percent over the previous year. Besides the positive effect from the Football World Cup, the growth in sales
is a result of the continuous further development of the product portfolio. As well as a complete upgrade of
the software for the self-service terminals, the functions and the user interface of the cash systems for betting
agencies were also revised. The Trading Department (bookmakers) also took on additional new staff. Thanks
to these newly created resources the range of betting services was extended significantly in all areas, which
also had a positive impact on the sales development.
For 2015, substantial sales growth is expected. Above all in Germany the goal is to draw level with the
current market leader with the “X-Tip” brand. It is also planned to continuously expand the sales network
in Austria and Denmark. In addition to bricks-and-mortar betting shops, more attention will also be given
to developing the company’s online presence in 2015. In this context, an extensive marketing strategy has
already been developed and the financial resources earmarked. The company also plans to evaluate new
sales channels in the B2B market in 2015 in order to open up new markets and business segments.
73
Games makers in Spain
Dosniha Gaming S.L.
Dosniha Gaming is one of the most traditional
gaming companies in Spain. To enable it to
optimally leverage the opportunities offered by
the Spanish market, the Gauselmann Group
acquired the family-owned company based in
Majorca in 2012, which in addition to selling
ultigamers and roulettes, through Dosniha Casinos
m
also has access to a group-own location in Palma
de Majorca. The development capacities for the
Spanish market are also consolidated within the
subsidiary. On Majorca, the Gauselmann Group
employs a staff of around 50.
Dosniha Gaming S.L.
“The Spanish are real gaming enthusiasts
and we get a lot of positive feedback
about our products.”
Uwe Horn
Uwe Horn is responsible for development at
Dosniha Gaming and heads up the Stella game
design team. He began his Gauselmann career in
1988 as a software developer. During his time in
the gaming industry his motivation hasn’t changed:
to develop interesting games that he also enjoys
playing.
into the corporate group nearly three years ago,
the location has been constantly further expanded.
What’s more, last year Dosniha established a
branch on the Spanish mainland, in Madrid,
enabling it to offer customers ideal service and
technical support.
Majorca is the headquarters of Dosniha
Gaming and is regarded as the Germans’
favourite island – is there some kind of
connection?
The Spanish gaming market is known for
its regionally differentiated legislation. Is
the effort worth it?
It might be logical to assume so, but the fact that
the company has its headquarters in Palma de
Mallorca is down to the long tradition of the
Dosniha family company. Since being integrated
To come straight to the point: yes, it’s worth it. The
Spanish are real gaming enthusiasts and we get
a lot of positive feedback about our products. But
it’s also true to say that legislation with respect to
gaming in the Spanish market is extremely complex.
Because it is the responsibility of the individual
autonomous regions, there are 17 different regu
latory regimes altogether that – to a greater or
lesser degree – all differ from one another. Rules
apply in particular to the maximum stakes and
prizes, the minimum payout and the playing time.
Within the regions, the law differentiates between
market s egments. Different requirements apply,
for example, depending on whether machines are
installed in bars (bar machines) or in arcades (salón
machines). There are also other special require
ments, for example for Exclusiva machines and
machines for bingo halls or casinos. All of these
regulations have to be taken into consideration
when designing new products and games.
What are the prospects for Dosniha
Gaming with the products from the
Gauselmann Group on the Spanish market?
The strong divergence in the requirements and
habits in the market gives rise to a wealth of
different gaming machines. Therefore, with
our products we try to offer a broad range
of different games systems. In particular the
current shift from classic reel-based machines
to video-based multigamers – that has already
happened in Germany, for example – opens up
enormous potential for the Gauselmann Group
in Spain.
PREVENTION
For many years, the Gauselmann Group has set standards for the operation of safe and modern entertainment centres. The goal is to ensure that all forms of gaming are a lastingly positive experience for the
guests.
The eastern Westphalian family-owned company stands for a regulated and attractive games offering.
However, legal gaming can only differentiate itself successfully if, within the statutory framework, it is able to
position itself in line with the market.
The basic prerequisite for this is the acceptance of gaming as a social phenomenon and not, as in the past,
stigmatising all forms of gaming as being something potentially fraught with risks that needs to be countered
with sanctions and interventions. Only if this is a given is regulation meaningful in the interests of effective
consumer protection.
David Schnabel is Responsible Gaming Officer of the
Gauselmann Group
78
The Gauselmann Group is committed to consumer protection and to dealing responsibly with potential
risks associated with gaming: these issues therefore play a major role within all forms of gaming facility
(arcades, casinos and sports betting shops).
The management and staff of the Gauselmann Group are very aware of the specific challenges related
to the issue of prevention. All games products are therefore strictly oriented towards the regulatory guidelines
and the self-defined company mission statement.
Umweltschutz
External experts on the Responsible Gaming Commission: Prof. Jörg Häfeli (Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Switzerland), Roman Neßhold (Institute of Gambling and Addiction, Austria) and Pieter Remmers (Assissa Consultancy Europe, the Netherlands)
The most important starting point when it comes to consumer protection is a diversified and comprehensive information policy that enables those affected and their families, as well as staff and the general public,
to address the topic in a differentiated and goal-oriented way.
Central prevention department
The central prevention department was set up in 2010 to coordinate and manage all consumer protection
activities of the Group. It also advises the management on all questions related to this topic.
The main tasks of the central prevention department include developing, updating and implementing the
necessary social concepts for the different gaming products, regular internal and external reporting, as well
as continuous dialogue with the responsible authorities, industry associations and staff at operational level.
Responsible Gaming Commission
In-house know-how is supplemented by a nationally and internationally recognised team of experts who
advise and support the Gauselmann Group in all matters relating to consumer protection.
In cooperation with the central prevention department, the commission continually assesses the prevention
activities of the Group, develops new measures and integrates its national and international research findings
and practical experience into the social concepts and internal guidelines.
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PREVENTION
Youth and player protection
According to various studies carried out in recent years, the number of problematic and pathological
players in Germany is consistently at a very low level compared to the rest of Europe.
Over 99 percent of players use the games offered by the Group responsibly and appreciate the extensive and safe gaming offer for small stakes and prizes as a fun leisure-time activity. Notwithstanding this
fact, as an arcade operator that prides itself on good practice, the Gauselmann Group focuses particularly
on people at risk and consistently advocates compliance with the statutory regulations. Respecting and
implementing youth protection laws is taken just as seriously as providing support for players whose gaming
behaviour has led to personal, social and financial difficulties. Implementing and ensuring compliance with
these regulations in a professional and competent manner is just one of the many tasks performed by the
staff at our arcades.
Employee training
Continuous training and raising awareness among staff is the cornerstone for successful prevention work
and ensuring that the legal regulations and in-house player protection measures are implemented consistently
in the entertainment centres.
The differing national training requirements are met by approved external training facilities and ideally
supplemented by numerous in-house awareness and training modules. These include player protectionoriented communication training, kick-off events for new staff recruits, regular qualifying campaigns and an
interactive e-learning module.
Consistently establishing this thematic focus in all areas of training and qualification, as well as adopting
corresponding measures, documents the high priority given to this issue within the corporate Group.
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Helpline database
In order to successfully refer guests with problematic or pathological gaming behaviour to the help system,
an extensive contact database at local level is needed.
Since mid-2011, the Gauselmann Group has maintained its own helpline database of initially 700 addresses which is updated every year and in the meantime contains over 900 addresses. This address list
is made available to players and their families via a query tool on the Group website. The database is
also used by the entertainment centres to create their individual player protection flyers, thus ensuring that
all entertainment centres have an individual player protection flyer, where necessary in several languages
(Turkish, Italian, French and English). Like this, every player and/or relative can in principle be shown directly
where to find help in their local vicinity.
Entrance systems
Alongside extensive employee qualification, the Group has for many years promoted the development of
innovative technologies, not only in terms of the gaming products offered, but for example also for entrance
systems, where these are required by law. The “Merkur Check-In” was the first entrance control system to
qualify and be approved by the Hessian Ministry of the Interior for use in accordance with the requirements
of the Hessian arcade law. Additional enhanced systems designed to technically support prevention work
and automation of the various regulatory requirements are currently under development and will further
optimise the topic of player protection over the next few years.
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Employees and training
In addition to a competent management team, one of the key factors in our company’s success is above
all motivated and capable employees. With their know-how and commitment, they have contributed significantly to the sustained success story of the products and services offered by the Gauselmann Group.
The entrepreneurial family and the Management Board of Gauselmann AG would like to take this report
on the 2014 business year as an opportunity to express our thanks and appreciation to all employees for
the commitment shown.
Kay Nico Horn (l.) was
honoured by the President of
the Association of German
Chambers of Industry and
Commerce, Dr Eric Schweitzer,
as the best coin-op specialist of
2014
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At the end of the past business year, there were 8,458 employees working for the Gauselmann Group
altogether, 5,789 in Germany alone. At the reporting date, 31 December 2014, 218 young people were
undergoing training nationwide with the Gauselmann Group.
Training qualified junior talent in administrative and commercial/technical professions has been integral
to the philosophy of the family-managed Group for many decades. Because all training offerings are needsbased, trainees can be offered interesting job prospects after they have completed their training. Like this,
the Gauselmann Group at the same time foresightedly helps to combat the impending shortage of skilled
labour within the industry. Additional exemplary and modern personnel development measures further help
to strengthen staff loyalty and identification with Gauselmann as a “model employer”.
In the completed 2014 financial year, 38 young trainees completed their two-, three- or even three-anda-half-year apprenticeship with the company and started out on the career ladder. Some of these trainees
excelled as best in class with outstanding grades in regional chamber districts, at federal state level and
repeatedly also at national level.
Echoing the achievements of 2011 and 2012, the national winner in 2014 was a graduate in the
industry-specific apprenticeship profession “coin-op specialist”. The Gauselmann Group was instrumentally
involved in the conceptual design and introduction of this new profession, which is why this renewed national
best apprentice award can also be viewed as an endorsement of the excellent training management within
the Gauselmann Group.
The industry-specific apprenticeship professions “coin-op specialist” and “coin-op service technician”
were officially recognised and approved in 2008 after years of campaigning on the part of well-known
lobby groups, institutions and companies. In its role as the industry’s largest training company, the Gauselmann Group has also contributed its extensive expertise to the restructuring of the training guidelines for
industry-specific training in the coin-op gaming industry, which will take effect in the course of 2015.
Nelly Baur was honoured
by Federal Minister Kristina
Schröder as the best national
graduate apprentice of 2012
83
EMPLOYEES AND TRAINING
The Gauselmann Group offers needs-based training
The “Merkur Senioren Club” cultivates its ties to the company
On 4 August 2014, a total of 78 trainees began their training in the Gauselmann Group, 47 of them as
“coin-op service technicians” and two as “coin-op specialists”. The number of training places in the administrative and commercial/technical fields, including dual training courses, also remained unchanged at the
previous years’ level in the past business year. All places in the 15 apprenticeship professions were filled in
2014.
Qualified training of junior talent in line with the specific needs of the company over the long term is not
just an integral part of the corporate philosophy; it also underscores the social competence of one of the
region’s main employers.
For many years, the Gauselmann Group has demonstrated its high level of social competence as an
employer: whether company sports association, health management or “Merkur Senioren Club” (“Merkur
Seniors Club”), the family-run Gauselmann Group is also a model employer outside the work environment.
The “Betriebssportgemeinschaft MERKUR Gauselmann e.V.” (company sports association) with its approximately 1,000 members and 23 disciplines, is not only the largest in the Minden-Lübbecke district; it is
also one of the nine largest in the whole of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Health care and prevention also play an important role within the company. As part of the “Fit & Fun by
Gauselmann” occupational health management system introduced in 2008, sporting and medical initiatives
are continuously being offered and promoted. Whether courses to improve back health, encourage people
to quit smoking or preventive medical check-ups such as skin screening, flu jabs or stroke prophylaxis – the
measures implemented to support employee health help to foster a healthy climate among the workforce.
84
60 employees were honoured for their 25 and 40 years of service with
the company
The BSG footballers have won many national and international tournaments
These diverse activities dedicated to serving our employees are rewarded by a high degree of loyalty
towards the company. At last year’s annual anniversary celebration, Paul and Armin Gauselmann thanked
60 people celebrating service anniversaries and selected pensioners for their loyalty and commitment to the
company.
To give employees the possibility to remain part of the eastern Westphalian games makers after retirement, the “Merkur Senioren Club” was founded in 1998. Joint meetings and group trips are a great way to
stay in touch with former colleagues and for them to maintain ties with their former employer. Since the Club
was set up, attending the annual general meeting of the “Merkur Senioren Club” has been a firm fixture in
company founder Paul Gauselmann’s appointments diary. As guest of honour, he regularly reports to the
Seniors on the latest developments in the Group and the industry. The “Merkur Senioren Club” currently has
96 active members.
85
Corporate commitment
to the region
The eastern Westphalia-Lippe region and particularly the Altkreis Lübbecke district as the location of
the company’s headquarters have always been especially close to the hearts of the Gauselmann entrepreneurial family. This regional commitment is manifested in support for clubs and charitable institutions,
preventive health care initiatives, as well as investments in the preservation and restoration of local buildings
and monuments. Countless examples show that for the Gauselmann family it has always been an affair of
the heart to give something back to the region and share their corporate success with the local population.
In 2012, for example, Paul Gauselmann among other things donated 1 million euros to save the hospital in
Rahden from closure.
Endowment to the Young Enterprise company at Rodenbeck
School
The latest testimony to this exemplary commitment is the doubling of the endowment capital of the
Gauselmann Foundation to mark the 80th birthday of Senior Director Karin Gauselmann. The Gauselmann
Foundation was created by Paul Gauselmann in 1999 on the occasion of his 65th birthday. As the Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees since its inception, Karin Gauselmann recently raised the Foundation’s capital from
5 to 10 million euros. In 2014 alone, the Gauselmann Foundation donated around 150,000 euros for over
100 projects in the region and has become an integral part of the social fabric of the town of Espelkamp and
the Altkreis Lübbecke district. Following the capital increase, the Foundation will in future be called the Paul
and Karin Gauselmann Foundation.
Apart from this, the “Stiftung Kinderfamilien-Hilfe” (“Children-Family Support Foundation”) was founded
in 2008 and is specifically dedicated to helping families with underage children that are experiencing
financial difficulties because one or both parents have temporarily fallen victim to an exaggerated passion
for gaming on AWPs.
86
Paul Gauselmann presents an ultrasound imaging device to the hospital in Lübbecke
The Gauselmann family of entrepreneurs is also actively involved in sports and supports a large number of
smaller local clubs in the amateur and professional leagues that are dependent on sponsoring or donations
in order to fund projects and investments. In the professional sphere, the region has for decades boasted firstclass handball in the top national division. As the main sponsor of TuS N-Lübbecke, the eastern Westphalian
Gauselmann Group, together with the many other local sponsors, contributes to the team’s success not only
with financial support but also through the outstanding personal engagement on the part of family members.
Company founder Paul Gauselmann in particular has devoted himself to tennis. As West German runner-up in the Men’s 75 team in 2013 and 2010 German champion in the Men’s 65 team, he is a keen sponsor of the “Tennisverein Espelkamp-Mittwald e. V.” (regional tennis club), whose 1st Men’s team has played
in the national tennis league for the past 12 years, as well as of supra-regional tennis tournaments such as the
international ATP 500 Gerry Weber Open tennis tournament. The company also sponsors Tommy Haas and
the world’s fourth seed in wheelchair tennis, Sabine Ellerbrock. Other sports such as football (for example
FC Preußen Espelkamp, DSC Arminia Bielefeld), shooting or riding enjoy the entrepreneurial family’s goodwill and benefit from the sponsoring of the Gauselmann Group. In 2014, Paul Gauselmann was the first
87
CORPORATE COMMITMENT TO THE REGION
Armin Gauselmann (r.) and the museum team
German Coin-Op Museum – Gauselmann Collection at
Schloss Benkhausen
member in the club’s history to be honoured by FC Preußen Espelkamp e.V. with the Golden Honorary Pin
for his exceptional commitment. However, the games makers also support more exotic sports, for example in
the past business year world record winner Matthias König from VfB Fabbenstedt, who set both the six-hour
world record on a recumbent bike in the fully faired aerodynamics class and the 100-mile world record on
a recumbent bike in the unfaired aerodynamics class.
Projects or institutions in the field of preventive health care also receive special attention. As long-standing
chairman and board member of the “‘Schlaganfall’ – Neurologische Klinik Minden e. V. Förderverein”
(“Charitable Trust for the Minden Stroke – Neurological Clinic”), Paul Gauselmann last year among many
other local projects not only supported the annual “Schlaganfall-Info-Tour” (“Stroke Info Tour”), which offers
citizens of the region a free risk check, he also donated 60,000 euros to the Urological Unit of Lübbecke
Hospital to allow a new ultrasound imaging device to be bought.
A further focus lies on preserving the region’s cultural heritage. Paul Gauselmann personally financed
the restoration of the 500-year-old Schloss Benkhausen. In a three-year restoration project, the old castle
belonging to the Wittekindshof Foundation was converted into an ultra-modern and exclusive conference
venue with an adjoining guesthouse. Offering 11 seminar rooms and 38 single/double rooms with a total of
50 beds, it is used as a training centre for the Group or rented out for external seminars and events.
Visitors can also experience historical flair at the “Deutsches Automatenmuseum – Sammlung Gauselmann” (“German Coin-Op Museum – Gauselmann Collection”). Around 200 selected historical coin-op
machines from previous centuries are presented in a permanent exhibition open to the public at the museum’s
new premises in Schloss Benkhausen.
88
Schloss Benkhausen, seminar and training centre of the Gauselmann Group
The English Garden at Schloss Benkhausen is a popular destination above all for nature lovers. An old
stock of trees planted by the aristocratic former owners, coupled with a newly landscaped park, provides a
unique setting to linger and relax. The unique castle garden, one-of-its-kind in the region, has recently been
enhanced by the planting of two new trees, an 80-year-old common oak tree and an equally old tulip tree,
to mark the milestone birthdays of Paul and Karin Gauselmann. In order to bring the cultural treasures and
riches of the castle to life for the general public, the family burial tombs of the barons of Schloss Benkhausen
with the moat ring and yew tree tunnel were restored in 2014.
In addition to a varied artistic and cultural programme, a stop at the cafe/restaurant “Die Rentei” completes a visit to Schloss Benkhausen. During the week, “Die Rentei” mainly provides evening meals for the
hotel guests and at the weekend it opens its doors to visitors to the castle grounds and the German Coin-Op
Museum.
89
Outlook on the business
development for 2015/2016
As one of the world’s leading gaming companies, the family-managed Gauselmann Group is continuously
exposed to new challenges. Thus the State Treaty on Gambling in Germany that came into force on 1 July
2012, including its enforcement and state arcade laws – some of which are already applied today, but which
are to come into force at the latest from 1 July 2017 – as well as the related increases in the municipal amusement tax are putting pressure on the entire gaming industry in Germany and stifling its economic prospects. In
order to compensate any revenue losses this situation may bring about, the company, as it has in the past, will
continue in the future to tap into new and international markets and business segments and develop numerous
innovative and attractive amusement machines and gaming software that repeatedly set benchmarks in the
gaming industry both nationally and internationally. Furthermore, unviable companies and branches were sold
or closed in 2014. Moving forward, the company intends to expand more selectively than before, especially
on international markets.
Building on this strategic objective, the Gauselmann Group will continue to expand steadily and generate
encouraging growth going forward. Although the regulatory restrictions already had a pronounced impact on
the business development in some areas in 2014, growing international business and strong product innovations
made it possible to more than compensate the negative effects in nearly all segments, so that the 2014 financial
year closed on a positive note. Accordingly, the Gauselmann Group is anticipating a continued positive trend in
the three business divisions, Merkur, Spielothek and New Media for the coming years.
The Merkur Division – which is split into national and international business – is the most important for the
Gauselmann Group. Despite the difficult political parameters that have prevailed over the past few years, sales
revenues in the national segment developed positively in the 2014 financial year. However, the market trend
moving forward remains unclear due to the political discussions and uncertainties on the part of customers as
to the future of the industry, making planned growth in the national market dependent in the medium term on
the regulatory framework. The international trading companies in the Merkur Division on the whole posted a
positive result. The Gauselmann Group succeeded in penetrating the market with its products especially in the
UK and Spain, and achieved excellent revenues and earnings in these markets. It is planned to expand business
activities here in 2015.
The Spielothek Division also operates both nationally and internationally. National business of CASINO
MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK developed significantly better than the cautious planning based on the restrictive legal
parameters had indicated. At federal state level, the divergent legal situations led to very different development
trends in the regions. Despite the difficult environment, for example stricter smoking bans, longer closing times,
restricted service possibilities and the requirement to compare player data with a central player ban file in
Hesse, as well as the reduction in the number of machines from 12 to eight machines per concession in accordance with the Berlin and Hamburg state arcade laws, revenue generated by the existing locations was up
overall on the previous year. This can be accounted for by the optimum management – based on a first-class
90
atmosphere, innovative products, excellent service and qualified employees. In order to reduce the dependency
on the Amended Interstate Gambling Treaty and safeguard the continued existence and success of this business
segment in the long term, the company is looking to tap into new markets. Merkur Spielbanken Sachsen-Anhalt,
which won the tendering procedure for casino licensing rights in Saxony-Anhalt last year, opened its first casino
in Leuna-Günthersdorf on 22 December 2014.
Merkur Casino’s international arcade segment proved highly successful. The desired synergy effects resulting
from the acquisition of the British Praesepe Group, which owns both arcades and bingo halls, were confirmed in
the 2014 financial year, so that the Praesepe Group has become one of the main pillars of international arcade
business alongside the Czech and Dutch companies. The installation of Blueprint machines at Praesepe has a
knock-on effect for the entire UK market and will lead to additional sales with third parties in future. Through its
investment in the UK firm Sceptre Leisure, the Gauselmann Group is represented in all the main segments of the
UK market – development and sales of amusement machines and corresponding software, operating of arcades
and the much coveted pub segment. Business activities will be further expanded here in the coming years in order
to generate additional synergy effects.
In the New Media Division, statutory impulses for the sports betting segment in Germany are unfortunately
still lacking, with valid licences so far only having been issued in Schleswig-Holstein. Consequently, it was only
possible to open betting shops there in 2014. In the other federal states it was still not possible to use the so-called
E15 licence for operating sports betting terminals, leading to an unsatisfactory development of the revenue and
earnings situation in the sports betting segment. The procedure for issuing E15 licences has been ongoing since
4 September 2012. Legal action against the granting of licences announced in September 2014 – among others
to Cashpoint – has been taken by unsuccessful applicants, so that the legal situation remains unclear and the
issuing of the licences has again been postponed indefinitely. This means high costs for sports betting providers
for maintaining the necessary infrastructure and the required personnel. The free resources are currently being
used to develop international markets in the land-based and online segments.
With the decisions taken in the past and the groundwork for the strategic direction laid, the Gauselmann
Group sees itself well-positioned to attain its ambitious goals in the coming years.
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PG 80
1936 Paul Gauselmann as a 2-year-old with
his father and four older brothers
1953 The 19-year-old Paul Gauselmann
with his apprentice piece in Frankfurt
1960 Paul Gauselmann at a
cigarette machine that he converted
into a stockings machine
1964 DIY juke boxes led
Paul Gauselmann into the
gaming industry
From part-time installation technician to global corporate leader
Mettle, innovative spirit, hard work and inventiveness – these are the main cornerstones on which Paul
Gauselmann’s exceptional life’s work is built. On 26 August 2014, the company founder and Management Board
Chairman of the eastern Westphalian Gauselmann Group celebrated his 80th birthday.
Born near Münster (Westphalia) in 1934 as the son of a craftsman, Paul Gauselmann was called upon to demonstrate his assertiveness and talent for improvisation from an early age. His early years were overshadowed by the
Second World War and the period of post-war reconstruction. With great enthusiasm, Paul Gauselmann started
his apprenticeship as a telecommunications inspector with the company “Telefonbau und Normalzeit” (T+N), after
graduating from school in Münster in 1950 as best in class. Here, he was able to demonstrate his technical skills
and understanding, completing both his apprenticeship and the subsequent six-month special training course with
distinction.
At the tender age of 21, not only was Paul Gauselmann the youngest inspector at T+N; he was also already
married and a father of two. However, despite a relatively good income and a number of other privileges as a
successful inspector, Paul Gauselmann sought new challenges. In March 1956, he gave up his “secure” future and
ventured into unchartered terrain as a technician with a general importer of American Wurlitzer jukeboxes from
Coesfeld. With this move, he immediately doubled his salary, but at the same time had to work much harder. In his
rare free time, Paul Gauselmann nevertheless devoted every spare minute to realising his own ideas. With success:
the development of a remote selection box with a telephone dial for a new German jukebox production, which up to
then could only be found on American jukeboxes, was to mark the formative start of his future career and beyond for
92
Umweltschutz
“MERKUR B“, the first
proprietary Gauselmann
AWP was licensed
at Christmas 1976
Video gaming machines were very successful in the 1980s
1984: discs instead of reels – “Merkur Disc“
Gauselmann AWP led to market leadership
the young technician. This remote selection box made entrepreneurial history for the young technical visionary as his
first invention and first patent, several hundred more of which were since to follow. His invention also brought him into
contact with the Harting company in Espelkamp, where he was immediately offered a position in the development
department. So at the end of 1956, Paul Gauselmann moved to what was then the rural town of Espelkamp. His
family followed in early 1957. A few years later, aged just 26, Paul Gauselmann was appointed head of coin-op
vending machine development and masterminded the development of the first electric cigarette dispensing machine
produced in Germany.
In 1957, Paul Gauselmann took another bold step in his life when on top of his normal 48-hour week he started
up a sideline installing jukeboxes with 17 Bergmann/Harting jukeboxes and 100,000 D-mark in crossed bills of
exchange. Thus the foundation stone for the Gauselmann Group was laid. His sideline led to full-time self-employment in 1964, along with two of his brothers and 20 employees. Together they founded the company “Gebrüder
Gauselmann”, which still exists today.
In the mid-1970s, Paul Gauselmann paved the way for the CASINO MERKUR-SPIELOTHEK arcade chain, which
today is the undisputed number 1 in Germany with far in excess of 200 entertainment centres. With the opening of
the first “Merkur Spielothek” in Delmenhorst, Lower Saxony, in 1974, the company founder marked the “invention” of
the modern arcade. From the very outset, the recipe for success was a customer-oriented range of products, a unique
atmosphere and above all well-trained, friendly and competent staff.
93
BIRTHDAY
Regular consultation between the members of the Family
Council is part of the successful Gauselmann business model
In 2003, Paul Gauselmann received the 1st Class Cross of Merit of the
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany from Andreas Wiebe
(3rd from left)
Since 2004, Paul Gauselmann
has been an honorary citizen
of the towns of Espelkamp and
Lübbecke
In 1986, the Gauselmann Group opened its first international entertainment centre in the Netherlands, paving the
way for continuous further expansion of arcades across Europe. Today, the Group operates around 500 modern
outlets in ten European countries.
With the “MERKUR B” in 1977, the first proprietary amusement with prizes (AWP) machine developed by
Gauselmann was born and enthused players with spectacular new games contents. The huge success of the
“MERKUR B” was at the same time synonymous with the relentless rise to fame of the Gauselmann Group and
pioneered the Merkur trademark. Within just a short time, the AWPs from Lübbecke occupied a dominant position
in the market. The company soon became a force to be reckoned with in the market and successfully continued on
its path of innovation. Just seven years later – in 1984 – the Gauselmann Group had become market leader with
a more than 50 percent market share and the highly innovative “Disc 100” game system. With the foundation of
more companies and the acquisition of existing companies the Gauselmann Group went from strength to strength. In
1980, Paul Gauselmann founded Gauselmann AG as a holding company for many of the companies that had been
formed by then. From a manufacturer of classic electrical/mechanical reel-based machines, the Gauselmann Group
advanced to become a provider of highly developed electrical multigamers containing up to 200 highly interesting
games, with internationally recognized quality standards endorsed by TÜV certification to DIN EN ISO 9001:2008.
Varied features and consideration of customer and player needs when developing gaming content remain the
basis for all Gauselmann products to this day. “The top priority for me when developing new machines has always
been having an ear to the market and looking into the hearts of the players. Whether development, production,
sales or service – customer satisfaction is the basic prerequisite for success in the gaming industry,” Paul Gauselmann
says. Even at the age of 80, the entrepreneur is still a sought-after ideas provider, developer and technician, who
knows exactly what products the market is waiting for. The decision to enthuse international markets for games
and technology “made by Gauselmann” at the beginning of the 1990s marked a new strategic positioning for the
Group. Since then, internationalisation has proceeded apace and the Gauselmann Group has grown to become a
leading international AWP and vending machine developer and manufacturer and entertainment centre operator.
This development reached its peak in 2012 with acquisition of the 170 locations of the British Praesepe arcade chain,
marking the most significant acquisition in the company’s history.
94
Paul Gauselmann
To mark his 80th birthday, the street in which the production site in
Lübbecke is located was renamed Paul-Gauselmann-Straße
In 2014, Paul Gauselmann, together with his wife and many guests,
opened the new logistics centre at the Lübbecke site
Apart from his own corporate success Paul Gauselmann is always mindful of the prosperity of the coin-op amusement and vending machine industry as a whole. Through his commitment he has decisively shaped industry policy
in the associations since the 1960s – especially against the background of the prevailing regulatory framework in
Germany. For the past 34 years, Paul Gauselmann has been President of the “Verband der Deutschen Automatenindustrie e. V. (VDAI)” – (“German Association of Coin-Op Amusement and Vending Machines”). Further testimony
to his engagement for the industry is the establishment of the two specific IHK (Chamber of Industry and Commerce)
apprenticeship professions “coin-op specialist” and “coin-op service technician”.
As Management Board Chairman of a globally operating empire with regional roots, Paul Gauselmann stands
for entrepreneurial responsibility and at the same time demonstrates social, cultural and sporting engagement – with
a focus on the Altkreis Lübbecke district, but also beyond. On the occasion of his 65th birthday, Paul Gauselmann
founded the present-day Paul and Karin Gauselmann Foundation with current endowment capital of 10 million
euros, which specifically promotes and supports social and cultural causes in his home region, Altkreis Lübbecke.
For his outstanding social commitment, as well as his untiring efforts on behalf of the German amusement and
gaming machine industry, Paul Gauselmann was decorated with the German Federal Cross of Merit in 1993 and a
decade later he received the higher-graded First Class Cross of Merit of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic
of Germany. Furthermore, on the occasion of his 70th birthday the towns of Lübbecke and Espelkamp made the
entrepreneur an honorary citizen in recognition of his unerring efforts to promote the interests of the region.
Behind the successful entrepreneur is also a strong and supportive family that has played a key role in the success
of the company today. First and foremost his wife, Karin, who has stood by him with advice, support and encouragement since 1967. All four sons have held positions within the company. Today, his sons Armin and Karsten are active
in the company, Armin as Vice-Chairman of the Management Board and Karsten as a member of the Supervisory
Board. Material strategic decisions are taken by the entrepreneurial family – which in the meantime also counts nine
grandchildren – at the regular meetings of the Family Council.
95
Gauselmann Family Council
From left to right: Armin, Karin, Karsten, Paul and Michael Gauselmann
Underlying strategic issues and topics are regularly discussed amongst the owners within the Gauselmann
entrepreneurial family and corresponding decisions taken. Alongside Paul Gauselmann as Chairman of the
Family Council, the other co-owners are Karin Gauselmann, Michael Gauselmann, Armin Gauselmann and
Karsten Gauselmann.
96
Management Board
1st row, from right:
Paul Gauselmann, Chairman of the Management Board
Armin Gauselmann, Vice-Chairman of the Management
Board
2nd row:
Dr Werner Schroer, Technology
3rd row, from right:
Jürgen Stühmeyer, Merkur Division
Manfred Stoffers, Marketing • Communications • Political
Affairs
4th row:
Dieter Kuhlmann, Spielothek Division
5th row, from right:
Alexander Martin, New Media
Alexander Vleeming, Finance
97
Supervision and advice
The Supervisory Board was kept regularly informed through oral and written reports about the development of the company’s business and its financial situation. All material business events and transactions were
discussed with the Management Board in regular meetings.
The consolidated financial statements as at 31 December 2014 and the Gauselmann Group Management Board Report were audited and approved and issued a closing statement by Dr. Woelke TreuhandGesellschaft mbH, Herford. After reviewing the consolidated financial statements and Management Board
Report, the Supervisory Board concurs with the audit opinion of the auditor and raises no objections. The
Supervisory Board hereby approves the financial statements prepared by the Management Board.
The Supervisory Board thanks the Family Council, the Management Board and the company’s senior executives for their successful entrepreneurial work, as well as all employees for their outstanding commitment and
excellent achievements in 2014. The positive overall result cannot be taken for granted given the background
of the difficult conditions in the German core market.
Espelkamp, April 2015
Manfred Grünewald
Chairman of the Supervisory Board
98
Supervisory Board
Manfred Grünewald
Chairman, former Managing Partner
of tobaccoland GmbH & Co. KG
Karsten Gauselmann
Hotelier and co-owner of the
Gauselmann Group
Max Walberer
Entrepreneur
Dr Wolf-Albrecht Prautzsch
Banker, retired
Richard Trachok
Attorney (USA)
Gerhard Böger
Banker, retired
99
Publishing details
Published by:
Gauselmann AG
Communications Department
Responsible for content:
Mario Hoffmeister M.A.
Merkur-Allee 1–15
32339 Espelkamp
Germany
www.gauselmann.com
Project manager: Nils Rullkötter
Project assistant: Ilka Ahlers
Editors:
Claudia Hecke, Mario Hoffmeister,
Katrin Koch, Mareike Kording, Irina Sophie Pötzschke,
Nils Rullkötter, Sina Treichel, Katrin Welland
Concept and design:
Schoeller GmbH Corporate Communications, Hamburg
Photographs:
Marco Moog, Hamburg
Foto Pescht, Lübbecke
Franz Bischof, Hanover
Onno Brandis, Bielefeld
Claudia Schiffner, Bremen
Christof Haake, Hamburg
Oliver Krato, Lübbecke
Thomas Lottermoser, Herford
Ilex Media, Lübbecke
Fotografie Frei, Ostfildern near Stuttgart
ISO K° Photography, Hanover
Markus Jäger, Bielefeld
Jens Schicke, Berlin
Judith Wagner, Düsseldorf
Litho:
Hamann Kölling GmbH, Hamburg
Printing:
altmann-druck GmbH, Berlin
Printed on Maxisatin, FSC® -certified
Espelkamp 2015
100
Gauselmann Group –
Key Figures
€ million
2014
2013
Volume of business
1,942
1,847
Sales (fully consolidated)
1,286
1,191
725
706
561
485
Economic equity
611
567
– of which shareholders’ equity
559
517
– of which silent partnership contributions
19
25
– of which Gauselmann family loan
33
25
187
208
Work places at year’s end
8,458
8,161
(full-time equivalents)
6,848
6,706
5,789
5,645
2,669
2,516
– of which temporary employment
358
271
– of which apprentices and trainees
218
192
Investments
®
The 2014 business year for the Gauselmann Group
www.gauselmann.com
2014
The business year for the Gauselmann Group

- Gauselmann

Transcription

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